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 lies 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, and its terrain is predominantly mountains and plateaus. The country has a tropical climate with moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall, an ideal environment for coffee cultivation.

Honduras produces two coffees of exceptional quality that coffee enthusiasts hold in high regard. One is "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, the country's highest grade. Most Honduran coffee is exported to the United States and Germany.

Twenty years ago, Honduras could hardly compete with neighboring countries on processing detail, upkeep of processing facilities, investment in equipment, export procedures, or green bean logistics. As a result, the general quality of green beans was coarse rather than refined, and only a few estates or Cup of Excellence winning lots qualified 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' progress in processing workflows, investment in green bean equipment, and improvements in transport and export have gradually borne fruit. Although awareness in the international market remains relatively low, forward-looking roasters have already begun investing in Honduran coffee regions, hunting for specialty gems. In 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 run a series of programs aimed at giving international buyers high-quality, flavorful Honduran coffee.

Honduras Coffee Regions

According to IHCAFE data, Honduran coffee can be divided into six major regions, found mainly in the west and south: Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta Tropical, and El Paraiso. The average specialty coffee cultivation altitude in these regions is above 1,100 meters. There, 69% of the coffee grown is HG grade, 12% is SHG, and 19% is CS. The main varieties include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira. Grading today is based primarily on altitude, with Honduran coffee classes 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 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 Property (IP).

Beyond promoting specialty coffee through the Cup of Excellence competition, Honduras has launched more nuanced and precise regional branding initiatives, an approach that shares similarities with Guatemala's regional identification and geographical labeling systems. Perhaps influenced by Ethiopia's defense of coffee geographical names such as 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 and on cupping results, providing market purchasing references. At the same time, drawing on sensory and flavor characteristics, geography, climate, soil, and processing methods, 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 Morazan district. Although San Juan de la Laguna is historically famous for its mineral deposits, the estate lies within the buffer zone of La Tigra National Park, a rainforest ecosystem and Honduras' first national park. The park acts as a massive watershed, and its climate and altitude are highly conducive to producing high-quality coffee. Coffee here is grown on mountains at 1,450-1,550 meters, shaded by banana, avocado, and papaya trees.

02 | Processing Method

Washed Process

To make harvesting easier, farmers prune coffee trees to no more than 150 centimeters in height. Taller trees would require ladders for picking, which takes time and can damage the trees when branches are bent. Because each coffee fruit ripens at a different time, keeping quality high requires manual harvesting followed by selection of the ripe fruit. Fruit on the same branch often takes several weeks to harvest completely.

High-quality Honduran coffee uses the washed processing method. Generally, the cherries are first soaked, during which defective fruit floats to the surface and can be removed and discarded. The good fruit then goes into a depulper, where machine rotation removes the skin. The depulped fruit is sorted by machine to select high-quality beans; larger fruit usually means 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. On its charming farm there is a washed processing plant and fermentation tanks. There, the coffee cherries are first processed for 10 to 12 hours, then washed clean. In special weather conditions, they are dried on drying beds for 8 to 10 days.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Honduran coffee beans are relatively large, uniform in dimension, and consistent in 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 fairly uniform in size. We keep an approximate range in mind. To develop Honduras' rich flavor profile, hard beans need to be roasted to at least medium. Once the approximate range is set, 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, and the ambient temperature and humidity in the roasting room, and planning your roast curve. During roasting, record the relevant chemical and physical changes, which will help you better understand the final result and improve your roast curves.

Roaster: Yangjia 800N, 550g green beans input

Roast Profile:

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

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

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

Flavor: Cream, roasted nuts, milk chocolate

05 | 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 this 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.

Purchase Link: available through FrontStreet Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washed processing is a traditional way of handling coffee fruit with water. The steps usually run through flotation, depulping, soaking and fermenting to remove mucilage, washing or further soaking, drying, and finally hulling to get the beans we want. Because washed beans sit in water for a long time, chemical changes occur inside and much of the simple sugar (fructose and glucose) is consumed, which lowers the sugar content while increasing various organic acids. As a result, washed coffee tends to keep more of the bean's own aroma while offering bright fruit acidity in a clean, fresh cup.

FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Gudingding cooperative coffee is a fine example. Everyone knows Yirgacheffe, but few know that small local farms deliver their fruit to a cooperative for centralized processing and sale, and Gudingding is an outstanding team from Gudingding village with practiced processing skill, discovered and made famous by the particularly refined, clean flavor it produces. Because it uses washed processing, FrontStreet Gudingding brings out jasmine and bright citrus acidity to the fullest, and after a medium-light roast it releases green tea and honey notes, suiting pour-over, cold brew, espresso, and more.

For another benchmark, FrontStreet Kenya Little Tomato is one of the best-known examples of the method, since Kenya excels at double washed processing: it repeats the washing step, soaking the beans in flotation water, washing off residual mucilage, soaking again, then sun-drying and hulling for storage. The repeated rinsing and soaking draw out a juicy quality to the extreme, with sun-dried tomato, dark plum, snow pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, a sweet-tart, juicy cup that many coffee enthusiasts love. And FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 shows why washed processing matters: Jamaica, one of the world's most famous coffee origins, suffers from limited sunshine, and its island climate brings shorter daylight, so washed processing was born to lower the risk of spoilage. Removing skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying cuts the water trapped around the bean and shortens drying, giving translucent beans with few defects. Washed processing preserves Blue Mountain's rich aroma, and in the cup it shows pure hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel, well balanced with no single note dominating or missing.