Nursery – Saffron Coffee’s coffee nursery is where the coffee-producing process begins. Our nursery currently has over 300,000 coffee seedlings that will eventually be planted by hundreds of Lao mountain farmers in their upland fields. Saffron Coffee has 16 different varieties of Arabica coffee that have been developed in more than eight different countries around the world. The seeds are imported and brought to our nursery, prepared for planting and then carefully sown into our seed beds. The seeds remain in the soil for up to two months until they germinate. As the seedlings are unfolding their first pair of leaves, they are transplanted into plastic bags that have been prepared with a mixture of topsoil, manure and rice hulls. The seedlings will grow into small trees in the nursery until they are ready to be planted in the field.

Agricultural Promotion – Saffron Coffee is committed to working closely with all of our current and potential coffee growers. We send our workers out to the field to promote coffee growing, to consult with current coffee growers regarding their plantations and to provide training in planting, pruning and harvesting. It means a lot to the farmers to see the faces of our workers on a regular basis—to have a good relationship and to be able to trust that we will indeed be there for them. We want them to be successful in their work and lives.

Harvesting - In December and January Saffron Coffee coffee farmers gather all of their family members to hand pick only the red-ripe cherries. It will take several passes over these two months to harvest all of them. In many villages, the coffee cherries are dropped into hand-woven baskets which are then placed on indigenous horses to be brought down to the village.

Pulping - The cherries are then carefully processed to maintain their quality and flavor. They first pass through a pulping machine which removes the outer skin and some of the sticky fruit material, called mucilage.

Fermenting - Some of this mucilage is still attached to the seed, so the beans are soaked in water for three days to break down the mucilage.

Washing - The beans are then thoroughly washed until all the mucilage has been removed and the coffee beans are no longer sticky.

Drying – The coffee beans are then spread out onto large concrete drying pads where they will dry in the sun for up to a week. At this stage the coffee still has its outer hull and is called “parchment” coffee.

Hulling - After the coffee has been sufficiently dried to a low moisture content, the hull, or ‘parchment,’ is removed by a hulling machine.

Grading - The coffee is then cleaned and graded. Then the coffee passes through the eyes and hands of women to remove any damaged and discolored beans or any foreign materials. Now the coffee is ready for roasting.

Roasting - Saffron Coffee specializes in roasting high-quality coffee by using roasting profiles and careful coffee ‘cupping’ evaluations. Coffees from different areas and altitudes are roasted according to distinct profiles to bring out the most pleasing aromas and flavors.

Packaging and Marketing - Marketed to local tourists and coffee drinkers. Green coffee that is not roasted will be exported to specialty roasters in Europe and the United States. The specialty coffee boom in the West has created a demand for high-quality coffee—a demand that we at Saffron Coffee seek to meet by offering one of the most unique and interesting specialty Arabicas in the world.

Brewing – Saffron Coffee is carefully brewed to perfection at our Saffron Caffè in Luang Prabang.