What Varieties of Coffee Beans Does the La Huerta Estate Farm in Santa Barbara, Honduras Offer? What Are Their Flavors and Characteristics?

What variety is La Huerta Farm coffee from Honduras Santa Barbara? What are its flavors and mouthfeel?

Honduras has been a hotbed for specialty coffee in recent years, and several villages in the Santa Barbara mountain range, centered on the San Vicente washing mill, have become precious grounds for nurturing Cup of Excellence winning estates. These are high-altitude slopes overlooking Lake Yojoa. Both Odin and Tim Wendelboe have chosen Santa Barbara as their top source for Central and South American beans beyond Ethiopia and Kenya. This "La Huerta" is no exception, coming from a village near Santa Barbara.

The owner of La Huerta Farm is Jorge Lanza. Jorge and his wife Maria have been growing coffee for thirty years, but previously cultivated at lower altitudes in Santa Barbara, where the coffee was not particularly outstanding. In 2010, to pursue higher quality, the couple bought the high-altitude La Huerta Farm, located in the famous Las Flores village, at altitudes between 1,600 and 1,800 meters. This is the Cup of Excellence champion cluster area in Santa Barbara, with pleasant scenery and excellent microclimate, overlooking Lake Yojoa from the mountains.

The Santa Barbara mountain range has always been a rich ecological environment for insects, fish, birds, and animals, covered with primeval forest, and it is also the water source for Lake Yojoa at the foot of the mountain. The farm bought by the Lanza couple covers 20 hectares and grows different varieties such as Catuai, Pacas, Bourbon, and Pacamara, practicing ecological farming methods. During the harvest season, workers from thirty households help with harvesting, processing, drying, and sorting. Drying is done naturally in the sun on African raised beds.

In 2012, La Huerta Farm had its first harvest and participated in the Cup of Excellence, but didn't even pass the domestic judging round. Coincidentally that year, world champion Sasa Sestic came to Honduras searching for green beans. On the last day of cupping, he discovered Jorge Lanza's coffee and was very impressed. Although it was only the first harvest, the flavors were outstanding, which caught his attention. Sasa not only bought that batch but also encouraged Jorge to continue participating in the Cup of Excellence.

Unexpectedly, La Huerta Farm's second harvest of Catuai won the championship in the 2013 Cup of Excellence the following year with a record-breaking score of 92.75.

Starting in 2012, Ona has continuously assisted La Huerta Farm in improving coffee quality, conducting more experiments and controls in harvesting, sugar content testing, and drying procedures, hoping to further increase cupping scores and challenge the limits of the Cup of Excellence.

In 2013, the Honduras coffee industry atmosphere was quite depressed. The fierce leaf rust disease caused annual production to plummet by more than 30%, a strong contrast to the glorious achievements of 2012, causing severe economic damage and forming huge social problems. High-altitude specialty coffee farmers were the exception.

Their quality not only remained impressive but was also surprisingly minimally affected by the disease. Besides the high altitude (most exceeding 1,650 meters), proper estate management and preventive measures were the main reasons for avoiding disaster.

According to IHCAFE data, Honduras coffee can be divided into six major producing regions, mainly in the western and southern Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta Tropical, and El Paraiso regions. The average cultivation altitude for specialty coffee areas is above 1,100 meters. Of the coffee grown in these regions, 69% is HG grade, 12% is SHG, and 19% is CS. Main varieties include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira. Currently, grading is still mainly based on altitude.

Coffee Details

Country of Origin: Honduras

Region: Las Flores, Santa Bárbara

Estate: La Huerta Farm

Owner: Jorge Alberto Lanza Ruiz

Altitude: 1650 meters

Variety: Catuai

Processing Method: Natural

Harvest Time: 2016

Awards: 2013 Honduras Cup of Excellence Champion

Flavor Profile: Famous for bright fruit acidity and delicate, noticeable sweetness, with honey and varied sweetness such as caramel or spicy sweetness. The buttery mouthfeel and uplifting aroma are particularly appealing. The overall balance is excellent and very worth trying: very clean, with honey, chocolate, grapes, apples, a good buttery mouthfeel, vanilla, lemon, cherry, nut chocolate, and caramel sweetness, a very sweet aftertaste with rich buttery mouthfeel and spicy sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: KONO dripper

Water Temperature: 88°C

Grind Size: Fuji grind level 4

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:14, 17g coffee grounds, first pour 25g water, 30s bloom, second pour to 238g water, extraction time around 2:30 minutes

Analysis: The KONO dripper doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, and the filter paper fits tightly against the dripper, restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and soaking time in the dripper, ensuring extraction time and rate for coarse grinding, so the grounds are fully extracted, the rich mouthfeel is enhanced, and the flavor becomes more concentrated.

Flavor: High balance, clean, thick and solid mouthfeel, persistent dark chocolate aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

La Huerta's naturally processed Catuai is defined by bright fruit acidity and creamy sweetness, and if that style appeals to you, Ethiopia offers some of the most vivid fruit-forward cups. FrontStreet Coffee's sun-dried Huakui comes from the Hambela area of Sidamo and, thanks to natural processing, the beans absorb abundant sweet aromatics from the fruit and skin, showing strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee with a smooth, juice-like body.

For a washed counterpoint with similar clarity, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe cooperative coffees bring jasmine florals, lemon acidity, and berry tones, with a soft, bright acidity that keeps the cup clean and elegant. Together they show the two main processing styles that make Ethiopian coffee so distinctive.