The History, Culture, and Stories of Honduras Coffee Estate's Premium Single-Origin Beans

Honduras Premium Single-Origin Coffee: History, Culture, and Stories

Basic Information:

Farm: El Matazano

Owner: Francisco Antonio Castillo David

Area: 3 hectares

Varieties: Catuai

Altitude: 1500-1600 meters

Region: El Matazano, Tutule, La Paz, Honduras

Annual Production: 80 bags

Harvest Period: April 2015

Processing Method: Washed, with final sun-drying on greenhouse racks

Batch Label: Direct Relationship Coffee

Quantity: 15 bags

Cupping Notes:

Honey, caramel sweetness, bright acidity with sweet notes, blackcurrant, pomelo, vanilla botanical notes, chocolate, stone fruits

Honduras San Juancito Lot#1

Country: Honduras

Region: San Juanjuito

Altitude: 1450-1550 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Because Honduras lies in the tropics, San Juanjuito experiences minimal temperature variation across the year: "winter" is really the rainy season and "summer" the dry season. In tropical regions, altitude shapes temperature more than seasonal rainfall does. At 1,239 meters above sea level, San Juanjuito stays slightly cooler year-round. In summer (March-June), the highest temperature typically reaches around 26°C while the lowest averages around 18°C; in winter the average high is 20°C with lows around 14°C.

San Juanjuito's modern economy depends largely on agriculture, predominantly small-scale coffee production, for which the climate and altitude are highly favorable. COMISAJUL, a cooperative of several hundred small coffee farmers in central Honduras, is based here. Its members grow coffee on mountains at 1,450-1,550 meters, shaded by banana, avocado, and papaya trees. During harvest, farmers hand-pick ripe fruit, process it by the washed method, and sun-dry it; the fermentation water carrying pulp and skin is collected and used as fertilizer for the coffee trees. The resulting cup is very clean, with high sweetness, very gentle acidity, and milk chocolate notes.

Variety: Bourbon

Processor: COMISAJUL Cooperative

San Juanjuito is a small village in central Honduras, 40 kilometers northeast of the capital, Tegucigalpa. It belongs to the Francisco Morazan department, which also includes Nuevo Rosario, Guacamaya, and Plan Grande, with a total population of about 1,400.

Although San Juanjuito was historically known for its mineral deposits, today it matters most for lying within the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park—a rainforest ecosystem and Honduras' first national park. The park is a massive watershed, providing drinking water for 500,000 residents of the capital.

Flavor: Clean, roasted nuts, milk chocolate

Honduras' coffee regions are divided into six major areas across the west and south: Santa Barbara, El Paraiso, Copan, La Paz, Comayagua, and Olancho, at an average growing altitude above 1,100 meters. The coffee is Arabica, with 69% classified as HG (High Grown), 12% as SHG (Strictly High Grown), and 19% as CS. The main varieties are Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira.

Bourbon coffee (French: Cafe Bourbon) is produced from the Bourbon cultivar of Arabica. Bourbon was first cultivated on Reunion Island—called Ile Bourbon before 1789—before spreading through French connections to Africa and Latin America. It is now one of the two most popular Arabica varieties in the world, typically grown between 3,500 and 6,500 feet (1,062-1,972 meters).

Hand-pour Honduras: 15 g of coffee, medium grind (Small Fuji ghost-tooth grinder at #4), V60 dripper, water at 88-89°C. First pour 30 g of water and bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105 g and stop; wait until the water level drops to half, then pour again, slowly, until the total reaches 225 g, discarding the tail end. Ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

In 2011, Direct Coffee introduced Finca Santa Marta from the Ocotepeque region, champion farm of the 2006 C.O.E competition and a top-tier producer in Honduras.

Property Characteristics:

Farm Name: Finca Santa Marta

City: Tegucigalpita, Yoro

Region: Ocotepeque

Country: Honduras

Altitude: 1,250-1,480 meters

Farm Size: 59 Hectares

Coffee Growing Area: 3-5 Hectares

Annual Precipitation: 1,300mm

Soil: Clay loam, sandy loam

Annual Production: 400 bags of green coffee

Certification: Organic

Shade Trees: Guama, Liquidambar, Oak, Cedar, Guajiniquel and Musaceas

Water Source: Natural water sources on the Santa Marta farm

Coffee Characteristics:

Variety: Catuai

Processing System: Washed, dried on raised racks

Flowering Period: September-October

Harvest Period: Handpicked from January through March

Appearance: 18 screen

Awards: 2006 Cup of Excellence, 1st place

Top Jury Descriptions: 60 seconds after first crack for cupping roast level (Cinnamon)

Aroma/Flavor: Peanut, nuts, almond, licorice, hazelnut, jasmine, starfruit, kumquat, honey, sugarcane, brown sugar, malt, frankincense

Acidity: Very fresh, clean, low acidity, citrus, berries, mint, low complexity, smooth

Complexity and Other: Well-balanced, medium-to-long aftertaste, smooth oily texture, very sweet finish, silky with no impurities

Direct Coffee Cupping Scores and Overall Evaluation:

Cupping Date: 2011.03.05

Dry Aroma: 9

Wet Aroma: 8

Clean: 9

Brightness: 9

Body: 7

Balance: 9

Complexity: 7

Sweetness: 9

Acidity: 7

Aftertaste: 8

Cupping Score: 82

Overall Comments: After winning first place in the 2006 competition, Finca Santa Marta began collaborating with international coffee buyers, which has kept the quality of its beans consistently excellent. For those who enjoy the lively peanut and nutty aroma of freshly ground coffee and the jasmine-tea sensation as the cup cools, its mild, crisp, delicious flavor makes it a fine Honduran farm with few defects.

Honduras San Vicente Processing Plant Pacas + IH90 Varieties Washed

Region: Pena Blanca town, Santa Barbara Province

Processing Plant: Beneficio San Vicente

Varieties: Pacas + IH90 (one of the new varieties developed by the Honduran Coffee Institute)

Grade: SHG

Altitude: 1300-1500 meters

Certification: N/A

Flavor Characteristics: Almond, cedar, dark chocolate, dark fruits, plum, caramel, full body

Introduction:

Honduras began growing coffee in 1804 and now has 280,000 hectares of coffee plantations, most of them smallholdings typically smaller than 3.5 hectares; these small farmers account for 60% of national production. In 2011, Honduras' output surpassed Guatemala's, and by 2012 it had become the world's second-largest exporter of washed Arabica, behind only Brazil. It now ranks seventh globally in production. Unlike the banana plantations once monopolized by American conglomerates, 92% of Honduran coffee farmers are small independents. Coffee-related work involves 12.5% of the country's eight million people, making coffee an extremely important crop.

In the plantations, farmers harvest red cherries, process them by washed fermentation, and grade them to market demands. Honduras harvests about 5 million bags of coffee annually, supplying quality coffee with distinctive flavors; with abundant volume and excellent quality, it has become Central America's largest coffee producer and one of the world's top ten coffee exporters.

The coffee industry sustains hundreds of thousands of families nationwide and provides one million jobs, making it a vital agricultural sector for the Honduran economy.

Honduras' major producing regions are spread across the west and south in six areas: Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta, and El Paraiso, with average growing altitudes above 1,100 meters. The coffee is 100% Arabica—69% HG, 12% SHG, and 19% CS—and the main varieties planted are Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira.

Honduran coffee has always maintained high quality, with prices among the most competitive in Central America. The small, round, slightly bluish-green beans show mild fruit acidity, full body, and light sweetness, suiting both blends and single-origin brewing at medium to dark roasts. Most exports go to the United States, Germany, and Japan.

Honduras is already Central America's largest coffee producer, and output keeps rising. In 2012, buoyed by favorable international prices, annual production exceeded 5 million bags, with volumes climbing and quality steadily improving.

The country's largest coffee-producing province is Santa Barbara in the west, northwest of Lake Yojoa. The area has developed into one of Honduras' most famous regions over the past few years, and it also produced the renowned agronomist Angel Arturo Paz, who owns the San Vicente processing plant in the town of Pena Blanca, north of Lake Yojoa. He has been a perennial winner in Honduras' COE (Cup of Excellence) competitions.

San Vicente buys cherries from small farmers in surrounding villages such as El Cielito, Las Flores, and El Cedral (each with at least 35 families and a school). Although the small volumes often make it impossible to keep each farmer's lots separate, the coffee from these villages has consistently impressed with its high sweetness and fruity character.

San Vicente is a family-run mill with a strong local reputation. Through projects helping farmers improve cultivation techniques and equipment, it builds close relationships with producers and controls quality strictly, cupping every batch.

This Rainforest Certified SHG batch from San Vicente combines coffee from small farmers in the surrounding area for joint production and marketing. Because each farmer averages only 1-2 hectares, no single grower produces enough green coffee to sell alone; they must pool their harvest—something like a production cooperative or marketing group.

This particular lot represents the small farmers of the nearby village of Edgardo Tinoco. Their plots are typically tiny, so they cannot process and sell green beans individually and instead sell to the mill for consolidation.

Rainforest Certification

Farm: Finca La Lesquinada

Region: Aldea Cerro Negro Copan, Honduras

Altitude: 1650m

Processing Method: Natural

Roast Level: Medium

World Cupping Champion Flavor Description

Hazelnut, pine, apricot

Honduras has never ranked among the top names in specialty coffee, despite natural advantages—excellent soil, altitude, and climate—and advanced neighbors in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. What Honduras has lacked is infrastructure and reputation in consumer markets: it is better known for commercial beans than specialty ones, so even excellent quality fails to command good prices. Many lots from Copan and Santa Barbara are passed off as Guatemalan and sold at Guatemala's prices.

There has also long been little awareness of the country's specialty potential. The main problem is that cherries receive only minimal processing and reach the mills still wet, which often causes them to mold and spoil before proper drying to the target 12% moisture; improperly dried cherries become defective beans.

Without price premiums rewarding quality, farmers, mills, and exporters have no incentive to invest in realizing the coffee's potential. As a result, Honduran beans have generally been treated as mild blending coffee rather than single-origin or farm-specific lots—a vicious cycle.

Things are different now. With help from USAID, Fintrac, and cooperatives like La Central, farmers are being actively trained to produce good coffee with proper processing that maximizes flavor, and Fair Trade has funded processing equipment while raising professional know-how. Honduran coffee has gradually climbed out of its slump to become one of Central America's rising stars.

Brewing Method

Recommended water temperature: 88-92°C, grind setting 4 (Tiamo 700s HG0421 grinder), 20 g of coffee

1. Pour 50 g of water to pre-infuse for 30 seconds

2. Pour until the total reaches 300 g, steep for 1 minute 20 seconds, then drain

3. Remove the dripper at 2 minutes to finish

Honduras, like any producing country, is diverse—one description cannot cover it all. The largest region is Santa Barbara, with others including Copan, Ocotepeque, Lempira, La Paz, and El Paraiso in the south. Growing altitudes run from 1,500-2,000 meters, primarily producing strictly high-grown (SHG) beans. Generally, the Honduran coffees we have cupped recently show lower acidity and higher sweetness with distinct caramel notes—excellent in espresso blends.

Honduras

Population: 8,250,000

Although the HCAFE does not describe it as a separate growing region, many roasters label coffee from Honduras' Santa Barbara area specifically, and several regions extend across borders into it. Some argue Santa Barbara deserves its own description, but listing regions by official principles seems more appropriate. Either way, there are excellent Pacas-variety lots from Santa Barbara that, under good conditions, show a unique fruity profile definitely worth seeking out.

COPAN

The Copan region lies in western Honduras, most famous for its Mayan ruins. It borders Guatemala, and regions like this remind us to focus on the actual origin of the coffee rather than just the country—borders are somewhat arbitrary, and consumers can hardly tell whether beans come from Honduras or Guatemala (unfortunately). Copan lies north of the Santa Barbara coffee zone.

Altitude: 1,000-1,500m

Harvest: November-March

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

OPALACA

The Opalaca region sits south of Santa Barbara, also covering Intibuca and Lempira. It takes its name from the Opalaca mountain range that runs through the area.

Altitude: 1,100-1,500m

Harvest: November-February

Varieties: Bourbon, Catuai, Typica

Honduras - 2006 C.O.E Champion Farm Finca Santa Marta

El Matazano, located between La Paz and Macala, is owned by Francisco Antonio Castillo David.

Francisco began cultivating coffee in 1995, working with 4 families on cultivation and processing. In recent years, severe leaf rust has cut production by 50%, forcing everyone to work harder on disease prevention and stricter quality control.

This year, El Matazano maintained its excellent tradition and earned Cup of Excellence recognition again. Francisco notes that the level of competition entries in Honduras is very high, making the international judging stage hard to reach—and he thanks the close cooperation of the 4 families for the latest win!

Oushe purchased the same competition batch, of which only 15 bags were available. We promised Francisco that as long as the same quality level is maintained, we are willing to buy long-term!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The washed lots highlighted in this article show exactly what water processing does best. Washing—floating, pulping, fermenting, and rinsing the cherries before drying—removes the fruit's sugars and leaves the bean's own character intact: bright fruit acidity, a clean cup, and a fresh finish. That clarity is why so many classic specialty beans are washed.

FrontStreet's washed Guodingding Cooperative coffee from Yirgacheffe is a prime example: the village's skilled processing team brings out jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity, and after a medium-light roast the cup adds green tea and honey tones—lovely as pour-over, cold brew, or even espresso. Our Kenya Cherry Tomato takes washing further with Kenya's signature double-wash, repeated rinsing and soaking that yields an intensely juicy cup: cherry tomato, smoked plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, sweet-sour and refreshing.

And for a washed classic with balance above all, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1: the island's short sunshine hours are why washed processing was born there, and it gives Blue Mountain its luminous, low-defect beans. Expect pure notes of hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel in a cup where nothing dominates and nothing is missing.