{"product_id":"b2b-pilot-catalan-natural-guatemala","title":"Catalan 'Natural' – Guatemala","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Coffee\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNicholas Hammond took over his family farm, Catalan de Las Mercedes, at a young age. Based in San Martin Jilotepeque, a small municipality in Guatemala's Chimaltenango department, the farm sits within a subtropical highland landscape built on volcanic soil at high elevation. Hammond holds a degree in agricultural engineering, and that background shows in how he runs the farm: each lot is processed separately and sorted by variety, which is not standard practice in the region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNatural processing means the coffee cherry is dried whole, with the fruit still intact around the bean, rather than being washed off before drying. Catalan is better known for its washed and honey-processed lots, making this natural a less common offering from the farm. The lots have improved year over year, and Hammond's attention to separation and processing is a big part of why. The farm also holds Rainforest Alliance certification, which requires meeting the organization's Sustainable Agriculture Standard covering environmental and social practices.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePilot co-founder Andy Wilkin first met Nicholas Hammond while judging at the Cup of Excellence Guatemala. He was impressed enough that the two have worked together since 2012. Part of that relationship includes Pilot funding the Catalan Education Centre, an on-farm facility run by Angi and Nicholas Hammond where children of farm workers are cared for and schooled during the harvest season, covering teacher wages and all operating costs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout Pilot\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAndy Wilkin, a Q Grader (a certified coffee quality evaluator), and Jessie Holmes opened Te Aro Roasted in May 2009 in Toronto's Leslieville neighbourhood. The name was a nod to Andy's hometown of Te Aro in Wellington, New Zealand. It started as a cafe and micro-roastery operating out of a former car garage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy 2013, the operation had grown and rebranded as Pilot Coffee Roasters, moving roasting to their current Wagstaff Drive location in Toronto. Their sourcing model is built around long-term producer relationships, with Catalan being a good example: over a decade of working directly with one farm, funding its education program, and watching the coffee improve alongside the relationship.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pilot","offers":[{"title":"2.1 kg","offer_id":45559263690812,"sku":"B2B-pilot-catalan-natural-guatemala-2100","price":155.75,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0677\/2880\/1852\/files\/WebCarousel1_20.jpg?v=1781806242","url":"https:\/\/stillwatercoffee.ca\/products\/b2b-pilot-catalan-natural-guatemala","provider":"Stillwater Coffee Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}