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Honduras | La Paz, Comayagua | What are the flavor profiles of sun-dried Bourbon and Catura from Small Tree Estate?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). Honduras | Comayagua, Sebastian Town | What are the flavor profiles of sun-dried Bourbon and Catura from Small Tree Estate? Located in the mountainous area 50 kilometers southwest of La Paz town, it's a dry but cool remote area. As the altitude gets higher, exceeding 1500 meters

Honduras | Comayagua | San Sebastian | El Retoño Natural Bourbon & Caturra Flavor Profile

Located in a mountainous region 50 kilometers southwest of the town of La Paz, this is a dry but cool remote area. As the elevation increases beyond 1,500 meters, we discover many coffee farms with great potential. El Retoño, which recently won the 2015 Cup of Excellence award, is situated deep in this mountainous region on a relatively high small mountain. The farm entrance sits at an elevation of 1,720 meters, with several plots on flatter slopes, while two plots behind the processing station extend toward the 2,000-meter mountain peak. Coffee trees are planted on steep slopes reaching 1,800 meters!

El Retoño belongs to the Comayagua region, specifically San Sebastian town, situated at 1,780 meters elevation. The main coffee variety is Catuai. The farm owner, Suyapa Leticia Argueta Suazo, believes that although Catuai is susceptible to pests and diseases, with double the effort in care, high-quality specialty coffee can be produced. The high altitude of the farm certainly contributes significantly! Several years ago, José Luis Suazo Rodriguez's mother handed over El Retoño to the young couple to manage. Due to the birth of their son Luis, they named the farm El Retoño (The Little Tree). Through years of effort, they have acquired additional small coffee forests, increasing coffee production. Suyapa received significant technical assistance from the Honduran Coffee Institute IHCAFE, and now uses soil analysis to determine which fertilizers to use each season, helping coffee trees receive proper nutrients and resist pests and diseases. She hopes to continuously improve cultivation techniques and wet mill processing technology, allowing El Retoño to consistently produce specialty coffee and establish a firm footing in the international market.

This year marks Suyapa's first participation in the Cup of Excellence competition. The entire preparation process was a beautiful and deeply inspiring experience, sufficient to encourage other Honduran coffee farmers to submit their finest batches for competition! This award-winning batch (2015 CoE 13th) uses the Black Honey processing method. The dry aroma of light roast features hazelnut and cashew notes, bringing out elegant red wine fragrance and honey sweetness, with some sweet red grape notes. The wet aroma has more pronounced fruit acidity, such as cherry, blackcurrant, and raisin, with excellent toffee sweetness! The cup flavor is overflowing with sweetness, with a silky smooth texture, featuring dried apricot, cherry, longan, blackcurrant, and raisin sweetness, bringing out hazelnut chocolate aftertaste. When the coffee cools, brighter raspberry-like acidity emerges! Medium-dark roast offers full caramel honey sweetness, with dark chocolate bittersweetness enveloping dried fruit sweetness, with thick and smooth texture, bringing out roasted nuts, cherry jam, and sweet tobacco aroma.

Farm Information

Region: Comayagua

Elevation: 1,780 meters

Producer: El Retoño

2015 CoE Award: 13th Place

2016 Project Origin Best of Honduras Late Harvest Competition: 3rd Place

Flavor Description

Tropical fruits, starfruit juice, wine-soaked cherries, plums, dried mango. Thick texture, convergent acidity, sweet aftertaste, floral and melon aromas. The acidity initially shows plum and peach notes, but as the temperature drops, additional dried mango flavors emerge.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing Method

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal R-440 #3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15g of coffee. First pour to 25g water for 25s bloom. Second pour to 120g, then pause until the water level drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Extraction time around 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage pour to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and faster drainage, pausing during pouring helps extend the extraction time.