Sweet Orange Estate Washed Catuai Coffee Beans - Suitable Roast Level for Sweet Orange Estate Coffee

Have you ever tried Honduran coffee? Honduras, in Central America, has quite a few varieties on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list. Among them, the Honduras Sherry Whiskey Barrel Processed Coffee is already familiar to FrontStreet Coffee enthusiasts. Lychee Orchid Coffee and Sweet Orange Coffee are also Honduran beans.

After drinking a lot of FrontStreet Coffee's barrel-aged whiskey-flavored Sherry Coffee, have you tried any non-Sherry coffees from Honduras? The Sweet Orange Estate, another Honduran bean, also boasts an impressive flavor profile.

Honduras Sweet Orange Estate

Region: Marcala
Altitude: 1425 meters
Variety: Catuai
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Citrus, melon, floral, sugar cane, orange peel, nuts, tea-like sensation

Not only is Honduran coffee outstanding in flavor, but since 2011 its production has surpassed Guatemala's, making Honduras the largest coffee producer in Central America and placing it among the world's top ten coffee-producing countries.

Sweet Orange Estate El Naranjo

Sweet Orange Estate (El Naranjo) is located in Marcala, part of the La Paz region, producing coffee comparable to that of another Honduran region, Santa Barbara. The estate takes its name from its shade trees—tall wild orange trees. It currently grows Catuai, Caturra, Bourbon, and Geisha. The bean we are tasting here is Catuai.

Catuai is a variety artificially hybridized from Caturra and Mundo Novo, with good resistance to natural disasters, especially wind and rain. Catuai trees are relatively short, and compared with other coffee trees, their fruit grows more firmly and is harder to pick.

Honduran Coffee Regions and Flavors

Honduras has six main coffee regions, mostly in the west and south: Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, Agalta Tropical, and El Paraiso. Among them, three are major:

1. Montecillos: the highest-altitude estates in Honduras, producing coffee with bright, complex flavor, full of rich fruit and sweet aromas with citrus notes.
2. Copan: Copan beans have chocolate flavors, a full body, and high sweetness.
3. Agalta Tropical: beans from this region have balanced honey sweetness and acidity, with chocolate notes.

Generally, Honduran coffee has high body and sweetness with fruity notes, though it sometimes carries nutty and toffee aromas, making it a fairly complex coffee.

Honduran Coffee Grading

Honduran coffee is graded by altitude and defect rate. Defect-rate grading follows American and European standards, which we will not detail here. Altitude grading is as follows:

1. Strictly High Grown (SHG): over 1,200 meters.
2. High Grown (HG): over 1,000 meters.
3. Central Standard (CS): grown above 600 meters.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Sweet Orange Estate's citrus, melon, and tea-like washed Catuai has a delicacy that echoes the Geisha variety the same estate also grows. If that refined, floral-fruit style appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Geisha lineup is well worth exploring.

FrontStreet Boquete Geisha is an estate-level introduction to Panamanian Geisha, grown at 1600 meters on volcanic ash soil and offering jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange. For a sweeter, more affordable take on the same floral character, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blends Panamanian Geisha with a Costa Rican raisin-honey coffee, giving you Geisha's floral lift plus grape, blueberry, and soft fruit acidity with an almond finish—great as pour-over, moka pot, or cold brew.