A Day in the Life of a Coffee Farmer: The Real Story Behind Your Morning Brew
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As the sun rises and its rays hit the mountain peaks of Maricao, Puerto Rico, Ángel, our Farm Director of Hacienda Iluminada, begins his day. He has a daily routine that is well-orchestrated with a team of farmers tuned in like a perfectly dialed espresso shot. This is the daily routine of our heroes at 787 Coffee. The humans who handpick every coffee cherry to give you the best farm-to-cup experience.
Morning Light: Stewardship Begins
Ángel’s day begins walking among the shade-growing Arabica coffee trees, inspecting the soil’s moisture and ensuring it has the perfect pH level to maximize the sweetness and ripeness of the coffee cherries. Hacienda Iluminada benefits from volcanic soil, abundant rainfall, and the perfect mountain elevation (3,000 feet above sea level), which favors our single origin Puerto Rican coffee beans and gives them a rich, flavorful complexity.
He greets Marisol, one of Hacienda Iluminadas pickers, who is already moving through the rows of our coffee fields with a basket in hand. They talk softly about which coffee cherries will be ready today; ripeness is everything. Only the red, or in some varietals yellow, cherries are harvested. This detailed process ensures that only the best coffee cherries are chosen.
Unlike machines that strip branches bare and releases natural gasses to our atmosphere, hand-picking allows farmers to choose only the ripe coffee fruit and leave the younger unripped coffee cherries to mature. By doing this it not only protects our coffee trees and future harvests, but also supports sustainable farming. Reducing waste, preserving biodiversity, and honoring and giving our caffeinated humans the best coffee they ever tasted.
Mid-Morning: Harvest & Processing Decisions
By mid-morning, the day’s harvest is underway. Ángel oversees the team as they pick coffee cherries. He checks quality: size, color, firmness. The harvesting process is like walking a tightrope, requiring precision in choosing which coffee cherries are ready. A poorly timed pick or having underripe coffee fruit processed can dull the flavor and strip away the natural sweetness.
Once the baskets are full, Ángel leads his team from the fields to the mill. This is where the hard work of harvesting turns into the magic of the honey process.
Step 1: Sorting the Cherries
The farmers gather around large tanks. Ángel shows them how to pour in the ruby red coffee cherries and watch as defects or unripe fruit float to the top. Together, they skim off what doesn’t belong, making sure only the ripest cherries move forward.
Step 2: Removing the Skin
Next, Ángel runs the cherries through the depulper. The outer skin is removed, but the sticky mucilage(”the “honey” layer) stays on the specialty coffee beans. He reminds the team that this layer is key to developing natural sweetness for when it’s ready to roast.
Step 3: Anaerobic Fermentation
Ángel seals the pulped single origin coffee beans inside airtight tanks, beginning the anaerobic fermentation process that sets specialty coffee apart. Without oxygen, natural yeasts and bacteria slowly break down the sugars in the sticky honey layer, creating Hacienda Iluminada’s signature flavor. Ángel supervises the team closely, monitoring temperature, pressure, and releasing gas as needed to keep the process stable. This careful attention adds depth and produces unique notes, from fruity and tropical to buttery and dark chocolate . It’s what makes 787 Coffee deliver the best coffee.
Step 4: Drying in the Sun
Next, the team spreads the coffee beans onto African beds (raised drying beds). Throughout the day, Our farmers return to check on the condition of the drying coffee beans and turn them by hand, adjusting for sunlight and shade. The work is repetitive but essential. This human touch ensures consistency and quality, something machines can’t match without risking damage to the coffee or the environment.
Step 5: Preparing for Roast
Once the coffee beans reach the right moisture level, Ángel lets them rest before processing and roasting on-site. This step locks in flavor and guarantees that our caffeinated humans enjoy freshly roasted, single origin Puerto Rican coffee that reflects the love and dedication of our farmers in Maricao.
Afternoon: Roasting Alchemy
By afternoon, the drying lots for earlier harvests are closing in on the right moisture content. Ángel calls on Wanda, the master roaster and also partner in life, whose love creates the alchemy for the best coffee in Puerto Rico.
Together they discuss roast profile: Development Time Ratio, Rate of Rise (RoR), airflow, temperature curves. Each lot is unique. Even two lots from adjacent fields might behave differently under roast. Hacienda Iluminada Coffee Farm+1
As the first crack pops, Wanda leans in. She observes the color changes, listening closely, and inhaling the rich, caramelizing aroma that fills the air. It’s an addicting scent of transformation. What began as a seed years ago now reaches its final evolution in the roaster. For coffee lovers who enjoy freshly roasted, single origin specialty coffee, this is the stage that is where we deliver YOU the promise from farm to cup, the moment you order our coffee beans.
Evening: Reflection & Preparation
After sunset, Ángel gathers with the team. They grade the freshly roasted coffee beans; taste samples. Discussed about what worked today, what to improve: was moisture too high? Did some batches over-ferment? Was shade management effective? Soil life, pest control, pruning – all these are ongoing tasks that bring Hacienda Iluminada to LIFE.
The team cleans and store equipment, prepare seedlings in the nursery for future plantings, and plan for weather changes that might come.
As Ángel walks home, he reflects on the day’s work. The teamwork, the progress, and the magic they created together. For our farmers, it’s a source of pride and joy to serve the caffeinated humans of 787 Coffee. They feel honored to wake up each day and share specialty coffee grown in their hometown of Maricao. Every seed planted is a seed of hope, uplifting the community and, with your support, bringing back the lost history of Maricao’s Royal Coffee to the world.
The Farmer’s Perspective
From Ángel’s point of view, farming coffee is unpredictable. So many factors can happen daily from weather, pests, rainfall, drought, even market shifts. What sets 787 Coffee apart is direct trade: every single hand picked coffee bean is grown, harvested, and roasted by our farmers in Maricao. Your support sustains their community, provides year-round work, and secures a better life for their families while sharing specialty coffee with future caffeinated humans. Thank you for being part of this journey. Every 787 Coffee bag tells our Farm to Cup story.
Be a CAFFEINATED HUMAN.
Be a creative human. Be a good human.
Be a NuevaYOL Caffeinated Human.
To summarize…
1. Life on the Farm
Ángel, leads his team through the daily challenges of farming in Maricao, where every step from soil care to hand-picking coffee cherries ensures the quality of 787 Coffee’s single origin, specialty coffee.
2. The Honey & Anaerobic Process
Instead of relying on machines, our farmers carefully sort, depulp, ferment, and sun-dry the specialty coffee beans by hand. Methods like honey processing and anaerobic fermentation highlight sustainability and create unique flavors that set 787 Coffee apart as the best coffee.
3. Direct Trade & Community Impact
Every purchase from 787 Coffee directly supports farmers, sustains year-round jobs in Maricao, restores Puerto Rico’s coffee legacy, and delivers freshly roasted coffee with a story in every bag.
