Honduras Coffee Beans Caturra Flavor Profile Processing Method Grind Settings Variety Introduction

FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Coffee Beans — Caturra Flavor Profile, Processing Method, Grind Setting, and Variety Introduction

The major coffee-producing regions in Honduras are spread across the west and south, including Choluteca, Francisco Morazan, La Paz, Siguatepeque, Santa Barbara, Intibuca, Copan, and Ocotepeque, with an average growing altitude of over 1,100 meters above sea level. The coffee varieties are 100% Arabica, with 69% classified as HG grade, 12% as SHG, and 19% as CS. The main varieties planted include Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Villa Sarchi, and Lempira.

Honduran coffee has consistently held a high standard, and its prices are also the most competitive among Central American countries. Small, round, and a slightly light blue-green, FrontStreet Coffee Honduras coffee belongs to the mild fruit-acidity camp, with a full body and a subtly sweet taste, which makes it suitable both for blended coffee and as a single origin. It suits medium to dark roasting and is exported mainly to the United States, Germany, and Japan. Honduras has already become the largest coffee-producing country in Central America. Production has climbed steadily in recent years: in 2012, helped by favorable international coffee prices, that year's output passed 5 million bags compared with 2010, with a significant increase in volume and continuously improving quality.

Though it looks like a niche coffee-producing region, and though turbulent times have left Honduran coffee relatively unfamiliar to many, it is one of the main coffee exporters in Central America, with export volumes second only to Guatemala. Honduras has two most famous types of coffee: "Highland Coffee," grown at altitudes of 100-1500 meters, and "Selected Highland Coffee," grown at altitudes of 1500-2000 meters, the country's highest grade. That balanced taste gives FrontStreet Coffee Honduras coffee beans a real lift, with moderate acidity and bitterness that set them clearly apart.

When it comes to coffee production, Honduras's geographical conditions are no less favorable than those of its neighbors such as Guatemala and Nicaragua. Honduras has 280,000 hectares of coffee plantations, mainly small farms, with most plantations smaller than 3.5 hectares. Those plantations account for sixty percent of Honduras's total coffee production.

On the plantations, because the growing areas are mountainous, workers hand-pick the coffee and then process it carefully to produce higher-quality beans. Honduras harvests three million bags of coffee annually, supplying plenty of high-quality coffee, and has now become one of the world's top ten coffee-exporting countries.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Honduran coffee takes well to a medium-dark roast and to blending, so FrontStreet Coffee Specialty Blend is a natural companion: washed Colombian with Brazilian pulped natural, giving nut, dark chocolate, and caramel, a comfortable bittersweet balance, and a smooth entry in a latte. FrontStreet Coffee Classic Blend takes the same direction with a little more strength — a three-origin medium-dark recipe with a touch of Robusta for golden crema and a solid body. If you would rather drink Honduras as a single origin, FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen's Estate offers a similar low-acid, balanced profile with nut, cocoa, and clear caramel sweetness and a smooth, lingering finish.