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

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Address: No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou

Contact: 020-38364473

Ingredients: In-house roasted

Shelf Life: 30 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk

Taste: Mellow and aromatic

Coffee Bean State: Roasted beans

Sugar Content: Sugar-free

Origin: Honduras

Coffee Type: Other

Roast Level: Medium roast

Honduras San Juancito Lot#1

Country: Honduras

Region: San Juanjuito

Altitude: 1450-1550 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Because Honduras is located in a tropical region, San Juanjuito experiences minimal temperature variations throughout the year. Therefore, what's considered "winter" is actually the rainy season, while "summer" is the dry season. In tropical regions, altitude affects temperature more than seasonal precipitation patterns. San Juanjuito's geographical location at 1239 meters above sea level results in slightly cooler temperatures year-round. During summer (March-June), the highest temperature typically reaches around 26°C, while the lowest averages around 18°C. Winter's average maximum temperature is 20°C, with lows around 14°C.

San Juanjuito's modern economy largely depends on agriculture, predominantly small-scale coffee production, where its climate and altitude are highly favorable for producing high-quality coffee beans. COMISAJUL, a cooperative organization of hundreds of small coffee farmers in central Honduras, is located in San Juanjuito. COMISAJUL is a cooperative organized by several hundred coffee farmers in the San Juanjuito region, where coffee is grown on mountains at altitudes of 1450-1550 meters, shaded by banana, avocado, and papaya trees. During harvest season, coffee farmers hand-pick ripe fruits, process them using the washed method, and then sun-dry them. The fermented water containing coffee pulp and skin is collected and used as fertilizer for coffee trees. This batch of coffee has a very clean taste, high sweetness, very gentle acidity, and milk chocolate flavor notes.

Variety: Bourbon

Processor: COMISAJUL Cooperative

San Juanjuito is a small village in central Honduras, located 40 kilometers northeast of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The town is part of the Francisco Morazán jurisdiction, which also includes Nuevo Rosario, Guacamaya, and Plan Grande, with a total population of approximately 1,400.

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

Flavor: Clean, roasted nuts, milk chocolate

In Honduras, coffee producing regions are divided into six major regions, distributed across the west and south: Santa Barbara, El Paraiso, Copan, La Paz, Comayagua, and Olancho, with an average growing altitude of over 1100 meters above sea level. Coffee varieties are Arabica, with 69% classified as HG "High Grown" coffee, 12% as SHG "Strictly High Grown" coffee, and 19% as CS. Main varieties include Typic, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira.

Bourbon coffee (French: Café Bourbon) is coffee produced from Arabica coffee Bourbon cultivar trees. Bourbon coffee was originally cultivated on Réunion Island, which was called Île Bourbon before 1789. It was later occupied by France, connecting it with the African continent and Latin America. It is now one of the two most popular Arabica coffee producing regions in the world. Bourbon coffee is typically grown at altitudes between 3500 and 6500 feet (1062-1972 meters).

Hand-pour Honduras: 15g of grounds, medium grind (small Fuji ghost tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, 88-89°C water temperature. First pour 30g of water, let bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to half before pouring again. Slowly pour until reaching 225g total, discarding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

In 2011, Direct Coffee introduced Finca Santa Marta from the Ocotepeque region, the champion farm of the 2006 C.O.E coffee competition, making it a top-tier coffee producing farm 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 beans

Certification: Organic

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

Water Source: Natural Water Sources from the Santa Marta Farm

Coffee Characteristics:

Variety: Catuai

Processing System: Washed, dried on sun-drying 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 fragrance, starfruit, kumquat, honey, sugarcane, brown sugar, malt, frankincense

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

Complexity and Other: Well-balanced, medium to long aftertaste, smooth oily texture, very sweet aftertaste, silky smooth without 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 coffee competition, Honduras Finca Santa Marta began collaborating with international coffee buyers, enabling their coffee beans to maintain excellent quality. For those who enjoy the lively peanut and nutty aroma after grinding, and the jasmine tea-like sensation when the coffee cools, the mild, crisp and 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 Honduras 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 these are small-scale coffee farmers, with plantation areas typically smaller than 3.5 hectares. These small coffee farmers account for 60% of Honduras' coffee production. In 2011, Honduras' coffee production surpassed Guatemala, becoming the world's second largest exporter of washed Arabica beans in 2012, second only to Brazil. It is now ranked seventh globally in production. Unlike banana plantations owned by American conglomerate oligopolies, 92% of Honduran coffee farmers are small-scale individuals. Coffee-related work accounts for 12.5% of the total population of eight million, making coffee an extremely important crop in Honduras.

In coffee plantations, farmers harvest red fruits, process them using washed fermentation methods, and grade them according to market demands to satisfy consumers' different taste preferences. Honduras harvests three million bags of coffee annually, supplying high-quality coffee with unique flavors. With abundant quantity and excellent quality, it has become the largest coffee producing country in Central America and one of the top ten coffee exporters globally.

Honduras' coffee industry involves the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of families nationwide and provides one million job opportunities, making it an important economic agricultural sector for Honduras.

Honduras' major coffee producing regions are distributed across the west and south, including six major regions: Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta, and El Paraiso. The average growing altitude is above 1100 meters. Coffee varieties are 100% Arabica, with 69% classified as HG, 12% as SHG, and 19% as CS. Main coffee varieties planted include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira.

Honduran coffee has always maintained high quality, and its prices are also among the most competitive in Central American countries. The small, round, slightly bluish-green coffee beans have mild fruit acidity, full body and slight sweetness. Suitable both as blended coffee or single origin, it is suitable for medium to dark roasting. Mainly exported to the United States, Germany, and Japan.

Honduras is already the largest coffee producing country in Central America. In recent years, production has continued to increase. In 2012, due to favorable international coffee prices, coffee production that year exceeded 5 million bags from 2010, with significantly increased production and continuously improving quality.

The largest coffee-producing province in Honduras is the Santa Barbara region, located in western Honduras, northwest of Lake Yojoa. This area has developed into a famous coffee producing region in Honduras over the past few years. This region also produced the famous agronomist Mr. Angel Arturo Paz, who owns a processing plant - San Vicente - in the town of Peña Blanca in the Santa Barbara province, north of Lake Yojoa in western Honduras. He has been a perennial winner in Honduras' COE (Cup of Excellence) competitions.

San Vicente Processing Plant purchases coffee cherries produced by small coffee farmers from surrounding towns like El Cielito, Las Flores, and El Cedral (each of these places has at least 35 families and a school). Although the small quantities often make it difficult to separate these small farmers' batches individually, the coffee from these regions has consistently impressed with its high sweetness and fruity notes.

San Vicente is a family-run processing plant with a strong local reputation. Through projects assisting farmers in improving cultivation techniques and production equipment, it is dedicated to establishing close relationships with producers and strictly controlling quality through cupping for each batch.

This batch of Rainforest Certified SHG from San Vicente Processing Plant combines coffee from small farmers in surrounding areas for joint production and marketing. Because each small coffee farmer has an average planting area of only 1-2 hectares, the amount of green coffee beans produced cannot be sold individually. They can only combine for bulk marketing, somewhat like a production cooperative or coffee production and marketing group.

This batch from San Vicente represents small farmers from the nearby village of Edgardo Tinoco. Small farmers typically have very small planting areas and cannot process and sell green beans individually, so they can only sell to processing plants for consolidation and sale.

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

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 in the specialty coffee market, but the country has natural environmental advantages - excellent soil, altitude, and climate conditions. Neighboring Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua also have advanced coffee production. What Honduras lacks is infrastructure and insufficient reputation in consumer markets. The country is better known for commercial beans rather than specialty beans. Even with excellent quality, it cannot command good prices. Many beans from Copan and Santa Barbara regions are passed off as Guatemala beans and sold at Guatemala prices.

Furthermore, there has long been a lack of awareness of its own potential for growing specialty coffee beans. The main problem is that coffee cherries receive only minimal processing and are sold to processing plants while still wet. This often causes coffee cherries to become moldy and damaged before proper drying to the target moisture content of 12%. Such cherries passing through drying processing become defective beans due to improper drying.

Without corresponding price rewards for high quality, coffee farmers, processing plants, and exporters lack incentive and motivation to increase costs to develop coffee cultivation potential. As a result, Honduran coffee beans are generally recognized as mild blended beans rather than single-origin or farm-specific beans. This creates a vicious cycle.

But things are different now. With assistance from USAID, Fintrac, and several cooperatives like La Central, they are vigorously promoting and educating Honduran farmers to produce good coffee, with proper processing to maximize the final coffee flavor. Additionally, Fair Trade has funded the construction of processing equipment and increased professional knowledge among coffee farmers, allowing Honduran coffee to gradually emerge from its低谷 and become a rising Central American coffee in recent years.

Brewing Method

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

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

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

3. Remove the dripper at 2 minutes to complete

Honduras, like other producing countries, is very diverse. I cannot cover everything with one description. The largest producing region is Santa Barbara, with other regions including Copan, Ocotepeque, Lempira, La Paz, and El Paraiso in the south. Growing altitudes range from 1500-2000 meters above sea level, primarily growing extremely high altitude beans (SHG). Generally, the Honduran coffees we've cupped recently have lower acidity and higher sweetness with distinct caramel notes, making them an excellent choice for espresso blends.

Honduras

Population: 8,250,000

Although it's not described by HCAFE as a coffee growing region, many roasters label coffee from Honduras' Santa Barbara region. Several coffee regions extend across borders into Santa Barbara (a government department of a country). Some might say it needs its own description, but it seems more appropriate to list growing regions according to official principles. There are also excellent Pacas variety batches from the Santa Barbara region that, under good conditions, possess a unique and fruity flavor profile that is definitely worth seeking.

COPAN

The Copan region is located in the city of Copan in western Honduras, most famous for the local Mayan ruins. This area borders Guatemala, and regions like this remind me to focus on the actual origin of coffee rather than the producing country. Country divisions are somewhat arbitrary, as consumers have difficulty distinguishing whether coffee beans come from Honduras or Guatemala (unfortunately). The Copan region is located north of the Santa Barbara coffee zone.

Altitude: 1,000-1,500m

Harvest: November-March

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

OPALACA

The Opalaca region is located in the southern area of Santa Barbara, as well as Intibuca and Lempira. It is named after the Opalaca mountain range that extends through the region.

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 and collaborated with 4 families on cultivation and processing matters. In recent years, severe leaf rust disease has reduced production by 50%, forcing everyone to work harder on disease prevention and stricter quality control.

This year, El Matazano maintained its excellent tradition and achieved Cup of Excellence recognition. Francisco stated that the level of competition entries in Honduras is quite high, making it difficult to advance to the international judging stage and win awards. He thanked the close cooperation of the 4 family members that enabled them to win again!

欧舍 (Oushe) purchased the same competition batch, with only 15 bags available. We promised Francisco that as long as the same quality level is maintained, we are willing to purchase long-term!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473