Nav: Home > Coffee >

Honduras Coffee San Juan Cidro Estate Green Bean Processing Roasting Analysis and Pour-over Parameter Recommendations

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Honduras 01 | Introduction to the Growing Region Honduras is located in northern Central America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean's Gulf of Fonseca to the south. It shares borders with Nicaragua and El Salvador to the east and south, and Guatemala to the west. The country is predominantly mountainous and plateau terrain, with a tropical climate.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Honduras

01 | Region Introduction

Honduras is located in northern Central America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Gulf of Fonseca in the Pacific Ocean to the south. It shares borders with Nicaragua and El Salvador to the east and south, and Guatemala to the west. The country is predominantly mountainous and plateau-like, with a tropical climate featuring moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall, making it an ideal location for coffee cultivation.

Honduras produces two types of exceptionally high-quality coffee that are highly regarded by coffee enthusiasts. One is "Highland Coffee" grown at elevations of 1,000-1,500 meters, and the other is "Strictly Highland Coffee" grown at elevations of 1,500-2,000 meters, representing Honduras's highest grade. Most Honduran coffee is exported to the United States and Germany.

Twenty years ago, Honduras could hardly compete with neighboring countries in terms of attention to processing details, maintenance of processing facility environments, investment in processing equipment, export procedures, and green bean logistics. Consequently, green bean quality was generally coarse rather than refined, with only a few estates or Cup of Excellence winning batches qualifying as specialty coffee. Since 2007, the situation has improved. Under the leadership of IHCAFE (Honduran Coffee Institute) and many forward-thinking dry mills, Honduras has gradually achieved success in improving processing flows, investing in green bean processing equipment, and actively enhancing transportation and export. Although international market recognition remains relatively low, proactive roasters have already invested in Honduran coffee regions, aiming to unearth specialty gems. In terms of production, Honduras even ranked first among Central American producing countries in 2011-2012, harvesting approximately three million bags (46kg each) of coffee annually. Beyond quantity, IHCAFE has partnered with like-minded producer associations and processing facilities to implement a series of plans aimed at providing international buyers with high-quality, delicious Honduran coffee.

Introduction to Eight Major Coffee Regions in Honduras

According to IHCAFE data, Honduran coffee can be divided into six major regions, mainly located in the western and southern areas: Copán, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta Tropical, and El Paraiso. The average elevation for specialty coffee cultivation in these areas is above 1,100 meters. Coffee grown in these regions consists of 69% HG grade, 12% SHG, and 19% CS. Main varieties include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira. Currently, grading is primarily based on altitude. The relationship between Honduran coffee grades and elevation is as follows:

The following three grades correspond to designated elevation ranges:

Standard grade: cultivation height 610-915 meters

High Grown grade: cultivation height 915-1,220 meters

Strictly High Grown grade: cultivation height 1,221 meters and above

I'm particularly interested in the "Western Honduras Coffee" association (HWC) in the western region, which was recently established and whose development deserves attention.

Coffees from Western Honduras (HWC) are the first Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) recognized and protected by the Honduran government, and also registered as Honduras's intellectual property (IP) and brand (MC).

In addition to promoting specialty coffee through Cup of Excellence competitions, Honduras has launched more nuanced and precise regional brands. This objective is similar to Guatemala's regional identification and geographical indications. Perhaps influenced by Ethiopia's defense of coffee geographical names like Sidamo and Yirgacheffe as trademarks, the Western Honduras Coffee designation was registered and approved by the government and national coffee institute during its planning phase. Their approach involves establishing Grade 1 and Grade 2 standards based on harvest and processing quality testing and cupping results in the western region to provide market purchasing references. Simultaneously, they have defined eight sub-regions of Western Honduras Coffee (HWC) based on organoleptic characteristics, geography, climate, soil, and processing methods.

These sub-regions are:

Erapuca (Ocotepeque-Copán)

Güisayote (Ocotepeque)

Celaque (Ocotepeque, Copán and Lempira)

Puca (Lempira)

Camapara (Lempira)

Congolón (Lempira)

Opalaca (Intibucá)

Green Mountain (Lempira)

San Juan Cito Estate

San Juan Cito is a small village in central Honduras, located 40 kilometers northeast of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. The town is part of the Francisco Morazán district. Although San Juan Cito was historically known for its mineral deposits, the estate is notable because it's located within the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park—a rainforest ecosystem and Honduras's first national park. The park serves as a massive watershed, and its climate and altitude are highly conducive to producing high-quality coffee beans. Coffee here is grown on mountains at elevations of 1,450-1,550 meters, shaded by banana, avocado, and papaya trees.

02 | Processing Method

Washed Method

For harvesting convenience, farmers prune coffee trees to not exceed 150 centimeters in height. If they grow too tall, ladders would be required for picking, which is time-consuming and potentially damaging to the trees due to branch bending. Since each coffee fruit matures at different times, maintaining high-quality coffee requires manual harvesting and selection of ripe fruits. Coffee fruits from the same branch often require several weeks to complete harvesting.

High-quality Honduran coffee uses the washed method to process beans. Initially, the beans undergo soaking, during which defective fruits float to the surface and can be removed and discarded. Subsequently, good fruits are placed in a pulping machine, where rotational force removes the fruit pulp. The pulped fruits are then sorted by machine to select high-quality beans. Typically, larger fruits indicate better maturity. Honduran coffee is dried using the natural sun-drying method, which imparts a subtle fruity aroma to its flavor profile.

COMISAJUL is a cooperative organization of hundreds of small coffee farmers in central Honduras, located in San Juan Cito. COMISAJUL is a cooperative organized by several hundred coffee farmers in the San Juan Cito region. On its charming farms, it has a washing processing plant and fermentation tanks. There, coffee cherries are first processed for 10 to 12 hours, then washed clean. If encountering special weather conditions, African drying beds are used for 8 to 10 days.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Honduran coffee beans are large in size, uniform in shape, and evenly colored with a glossy appearance.

Classification by Altitude

SHG	Strictly High Grown	Over 1500 m
HG	High Grown	from 1000 to 1500 m
CS	Central Standard	Under 1000 m

Classification by Defect Rate

US Standard USP	US preparation
European Standard EP	Euro preparation

Meaning and Rules of Honduran Green Bean Names:

Honduras SHG EP

Country + Altitude Grade + Defect Standard

Green Bean Information:

Country: Honduras

Region: San Juan Cito Estate

Altitude: 1,300 meters

Varietal: Catuai

Process: Washed

04 | Roasting Analysis

Honduran beans are hard beans with medium moisture content and relatively uniform size. To develop Honduras's rich flavor profile, hard beans need to be roasted to medium level or above. After determining the approximate range, we designed curves for medium, medium-dark, and second crack roasts.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests keeping detailed data records before roasting, including coffee bean moisture content, density, origin, processing method, roasting room temperature and humidity, and planning your roasting curve accordingly. Record relevant chemical and physical changes during the roasting process, as this will help you better understand the final roasting results and improve your roasting curves.

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans loaded

Roasting Curve:

Preheat drum to 200°C, load beans with damper at 3. After 1 minute, reduce heat to 170°C, keep damper unchanged. At 5'45", temperature reaches 151.7°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete. Reduce heat to 140°C, adjust damper to 4.

At 9'00", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toasted bread aroma明显 transitions to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 8'23", reduce heat to 80°C, fully open damper (reduce heat very carefully, not so low that crackling stops), discharge at 202°C.

Excellent sweetness, especially noticeable caramel sweetness, while the thick mouthfeel and rich oiliness create a full body that's very appealing!

Flavor: Cream, roasted nuts, milk chocolate

04 | Brewing Analysis

1. Filter: French press

2. Water temperature: 88°C

3. Grind size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4

4. Roast level: Medium-dark roast

5. Steeping time: 2.5 minutes

Flavor: Balanced, chocolate, persistent caramel sweetness in aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee recommended method: 15g coffee, Fuji Royal "ghost tooth" burr grinder setting 4, 88°C water temperature, steep for 2.5 minutes, press, filter, and pour the coffee.