What are the specific flavor characteristics of Honduras coffee?

Honduras Sweet Orange Estate

Honduras is located in central Central America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south, Guatemala to the west, El Salvador to the southwest, and Nicaragua to the southeast. With an area of 112,492 square kilometers and a coastline of approximately 1,033 kilometers, the entire territory consists of mountains except for the coastal plains. The northwestern part reaches an altitude of 3,000 meters, while the southern part also exceeds 2,400 meters. The main rivers in the country include the Coco River, Patuca River, and Ulua River. Rivers originating from the inland mountainous areas crisscross and flow into both oceans. Between the various mountain ranges, many basins and valleys have formed, with larger basins including the Siria and Repaguanle basins, and main valleys including the Comayagua and Hamastlan valleys.

The country can be divided into four natural geographical regions: the eastern lowlands, the northern coastal alluvial plains, the central highlands, and the Pacific coastal lowlands. Coastal islands are scattered throughout, with main islands including the Bay Islands and the Tigre Islands in the Gulf of Fonseca. Honduras has complex terrain and diverse climates. The Central American coastal plains have a tropical rainforest climate with an average annual temperature of 31°C. The mountainous regions have a subtropical forest climate with an average annual temperature of 23°C, with the rainy season from June to November.

For coffee production, Honduras's geographical conditions are no less favorable than its neighboring coffee-producing countries such as Guatemala and Nicaragua. Honduras has 280,000 hectares of coffee plantations, mainly small coffee farms, most of which are smaller than 3.5 hectares. These coffee plantations account for sixty percent of Honduras's total coffee production. In the coffee plantations, because the growing areas are in mountainous regions, people hand-pick coffee beans and then carefully process them to produce higher-quality coffee beans. Honduras harvests three million bags of coffee annually, providing abundant and high-quality coffee to the market, and has now become one of the world's top ten coffee-exporting countries.

Catuai Coffee Variety

Catuai is very popular among farmers due to its high yield. Similar to Caturra, it has short plants and is suitable for intensive cultivation. It has relatively good resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. It inherits the advantage of Caturra's low plant height while overcoming the shortcomings of Mundo Novo. Another advantage is its solid fruit set, which is not easily shed when exposed to strong winds, compensating for the delicate nature of Arabica coffee cherries. After its official release in the 1970s, it was promoted to Central American countries and widely cultivated in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, as well as its country of origin, Brazil. Considering flavor alone, under appropriate terroir conditions and processing methods, Catuai can have quite wonderful flavor characteristics.

Honduras El Naranjo Coffee Information

Country: Honduras

Region: Marcala

Altitude: 1,425 meters

Variety: Catuai

Processing: Washed

Flavor: This bean is washed processed, with dry aromas of spices and roasted peanuts, giving the bean an elegant acidity. It has soft citrus acidity with flavors of orange, melon, cream, nuts, and dark chocolate, with a Sunkist-like sweetness in the finish.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Dripper: V60

Grind Size: 3.5 (Japan Fuji R440)

Water Temperature: 89±1°C

Brewing Process:

• 30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s

• Segmented: Pour water to 120g, pause, then slowly pour to 225g

• That is 30-120-225g

When all the coffee grounds layered in the dripper can be evenly soaked with hot water (rather than repeatedly extracting only a small portion of the coffee grounds), avoid the situation where coffee grounds produce sour and astringent flavors due to over-extraction, achieving a full, balanced, mellow, sweet, and rich taste profile. The water column should have penetrating power with a shape that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom - meaning the width of water coming from the spout should be wide, while the ending shape should present a sharp form.

Other Drip Brewing Recommendations:

• French press: Recommended grind size 3.5-4, water temperature 86-88°C

• Aeropress: Recommended grind size 2.5, water temperature 86-88°C

The dry aroma has some notes of spices, roasted peanuts, and chocolate. The wet aroma carries a hint of herbal plant fragrance. Upon entry, you can clearly perceive flavors of orange peel, nuts, and cream, somewhat reminiscent of a cup of lemon tea.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473