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Altos de Erapuca Estate | Coffee from Finca Altos de Erapuca, San Juan, Honduras

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Honduras 01 | Regional Introduction Honduras is located in northern Central America, bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea and to the south by the Pacific Gulf of Fonseca. It shares borders with Nicaragua and El Salvador to the east and south, and Guatemala to the west, consisting predominantly of mountains and plateaus. It enjoys a tropical climate with moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall, making it an ideal region for coffee cultivation. Honduras produces two types of exceptionally high-quality

Honduras

Green Bean Information

Country: Honduras

Region: San Juan de la Laguna

Estate: Finca Altos de Erapuca

Altitude: 1,300 meters

Varietal: Catuai

Process: Washed

01 | Region Overview

Honduras is located in northern Central America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Gulf of Fonseca to the south. It shares borders with Nicaragua and El Salvador to the east and south, and Guatemala to the west, characterized predominantly by mountains and plateaus. The country enjoys a tropical climate with moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall, making it an ideal environment for coffee cultivation.

Honduras produces two exceptional quality coffees that are highly regarded by coffee enthusiasts. One is the "High Grown" coffee, cultivated at altitudes between 1,000-1,500 meters, and the other is "Strictly High Grown" coffee, grown at 1,500-2,000 meters, representing Honduras' highest grade. The majority of Honduran coffee is exported to the United States and Germany.

Twenty years ago, Honduras could hardly compete with neighboring countries in terms of processing details, maintenance of processing facility surroundings, investment in processing equipment, export procedures, and green bean logistics. Consequently, the general quality of green beans was naturally 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 the IHCAFE Coffee Institute and several forward-thinking dry processing facilities, Honduras' improvements in processing workflows, investments in green bean processing equipment, and active enhancements in transportation and export have gradually shown results. Although international market awareness remains relatively low, proactive roasters have already begun investing in Honduras' coffee regions, seeking to uncover specialty gems. In terms of production volume, Honduras even ranked first among Central American coffee-producing countries in 2011-2012, harvesting approximately three million bags (46kg each) of coffee annually. Beyond volume, IHCAFE has partnered with like-minded producer associations and processing facilities to implement a series of programs aimed at providing international buyers with high-quality, flavorful Honduran coffee.

Honduras Eight Major Coffee Regions

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

The following three grades correspond to their designated altitude ranges:

Standard grade: Cultivation height of 610-915 meters

High Grown grade: Cultivation height of 915-1,220 meters

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

I am particularly interested in the recently established "Honduras Western Coffee" association in the western region, abbreviated as HWC, whose development deserves attention.

The coffee produced and labeled by Honduras Western Coffee (HWC) is the first Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) protected by the Honduran government, and it is also registered as Honduras' Intellectual Property (IP) and Brand Collective Mark (MC).

HWC is the first Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Brand Collective (MC) recognized and registered by the Honduran Institute of Honduran Property (IP).

Beyond promoting specialty coffee through the Cup of Excellence competition, Honduras has launched more nuanced and precise regional branding initiatives. This approach shares similarities with Guatemala's regional identification and geographical labeling systems. Perhaps influenced by Ethiopia's defense of coffee geographical names like Sidamo and Yirgacheffe as trademarks, the Honduras Western Coffee designation was registered and approved by the government and national coffee institute during its preparation phase. Their vision is to establish Grade 1 and Grade 2 standards based on quality testing of coffee harvesting and processing in the western region, cupping processes, and to provide market purchasing references. Simultaneously, based on sensory and flavor characteristics, geography, climate, soil, processing methods, and other conditions (organoleptic characteristics, geography, climate, soil, process), they have defined 8 sub-regions within Honduras Western Coffee (HWC).

San Juan de la Laguna Region

Finca Altos de Erapuca 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 de la Laguna is historically famous for its mineral deposits, the estate is located within the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park, a rainforest ecosystem. It is also Honduras' 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 cultivated on mountains at altitudes of 1,450-1,550 meters, shaded by banana, avocado, and papaya trees.

02 | Processing Method

Washed Process

To facilitate harvesting, farmers prune coffee trees to no more than 150 centimeters in height. Taller trees would require ladders for picking, which is time-consuming and potentially damaging to the trees from bending branches. Since each coffee fruit ripens at different times, maintaining coffee quality requires manual harvesting, followed by selection of ripe fruits. Coffee fruits from the same branch often require several weeks for complete harvesting.

High-quality Honduran coffee uses the washed processing method. Generally, coffee cherries first undergo soaking, during which defective fruits float to the surface and can be removed and discarded. The good fruits are then placed in a depulper, where machine rotation removes the fruit skin. The depulped fruits are then sorted by machine to select high-quality beans. Typically, larger fruits represent better ripeness. Honduran coffee is sun-dried, which is why its flavor profile always carries a subtle fruity aroma.

A cooperative organization of hundreds of small coffee farmers in central Honduras is located in San Juan de la Laguna.

Finca Altos de Erapuca is a cooperative organized by hundreds of coffee farmers in the San Juan de la Laguna region. In its charming farm, there is a washed processing plant and fermentation tanks. There, coffee cherries are first processed for 10 to 12 hours, then washed clean. During special weather conditions, they are dried on drying beds for 8 to 10 days.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Honduran coffee beans are relatively large in size, uniform in dimension, and display consistent color 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

USP	US preparation
EP	Euro preparation

The meaning and rules of Honduran green bean names:

Honduras SHG EP

Country + Altitude Grade + Defect Standard

04 | Roasting Analysis

Honduras produces hard beans with moderate moisture content, and the beans are relatively uniform in size. We have an approximate range in mind. To develop Honduras' rich flavor profile, hard beans need to be roasted to at least medium roast. After determining the approximate range, we designed curves for medium, medium-dark, and second crack profiles.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests recording data before roasting, including coffee bean moisture content, density, origin, processing method, ambient temperature and humidity in the roasting room, and planning your roast curve. During the roasting process, record relevant chemical and physical changes, as this will help you better understand the final roasting results and improve your roast curves.

Roaster: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans input

Roast Profile:

Heat the drum to 200°C and load beans, air damper at 3. After 1 minute, reduce heat to 170°C, keeping air damper unchanged. At 5'45", temperature reaches 151.7°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration is complete. Reduce heat to 140°C, air damper to 4.

At 9'00 minutes, ugly wrinkles and dark spots appear on bean surface, toast aroma distinctly transitions to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'23", first crack begins, reduce heat to 80°C, fully open air damper (be very careful when reducing heat - don't reduce it so much that cracking stops). Drop at 202°C.

Excellent sweetness, especially prominent caramel sweetness. The full body formed by rich texture and intense oils is very appealing!

Flavor: Cream, roasted nuts, milk chocolate

04 | Brewing Analysis

1. Filter: French press

2. Water temperature: 88°C

3. Grind size: Fuji Mini Rancilio grinder setting 4

4. Roast level: Medium-dark roast

5. Steeping time: 2.5 minutes

Flavor: Balanced, chocolate, persistent caramel sweetness in the aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee suggests method: 15g of coffee, Fuji Mini Rancilio ghost tooth grinder setting 4, steep in 88°C water for 2.5 minutes, press, filter, and pour the coffee.