Honduras

Santa Barbara

Honduras has long been on our radar, and we are in the process of building more connections in the country. The consistent quality of lots from Honduras has been impressive, especially down to the work of companies like Beneficio San Vicente. Beneficio San Vicente was started by Benjamin Paz, and aims to increase coffee quality and living standards for producers in the Santa Barbara region.

The Santa Barbara region provides some challenges to those hoping to grow high quality coffee. The region stretches from the border with Guatemala into the central highlands, home to some of the highest altitude in the country. Santa Barbara also sits close to a large area of jungle, leading to high humidity and a great deal of rainfall, especially during harvest season, which creates great difficulty in consistently drying coffees. The low night temperatures here, along with the wet climate, can also lead to ‘freezing’ of the coffee plant, where cherries cease to mature on the tree, leading to crop loss.

Santa Barbara

Erin Moreno & Fredy Sabillon

The two coffees we feature this month in our subscription both represent the changes we have been seeing in the coffee landscape in Honduras over the last few seasons.

The first coffee is a returning favourite from Erin Moreno, a complex and fresh anaerobic Parainema. The Moreno family have been growing excellent quality coffee for years. Erin’s father, Pedro, was one of the first producers to enter the specialty coffee market in Santa Barbara. Erin inherited this plot of the farm from Pedro, initially planted with Catimor. However, after witnessing the success of Paraneima on other parts of the farm, Erin chose to replant the entire plot soon after he took over. We feel the varietal characteristics are clear here, with fresh herbal aromas followed by a crisp and juicy acidity.

Similar to Erin, Fredy’s father also worked with coffee, and brought Fredy to the farm from a young age. Fredy has managed his own farm since 2006, when he planted coffee on a small plot inherited by his father. Using this experience, he bought this 3 hectare plot together with his brother. This lot was processed using the honey method and with relatively long drying time means a degree of process influence on the cup, softening the Paraneima character into rich and ripe fruit.

Sagastume

The Sagastume family have been involved in coffee in Santa Barbara for generations, long before the recent recognition of the potential of the area. The family have worked hard to earn their place in the speciality coffee market, through tireless research and savvy investment, and actively seeking out opportunities.

We have bought three lots from the Sagastume family; the washed with its crisp citrus aromas are followed by a deeply sweet cup with notes of caramel and redcurrant. The honey processed lot showcases ripe red grape and blackcurrant, alongside a deep toffee sweetness. And finally the SL28 lot showcases juicy blackberry and raspberry, balanced by a caramel sweetness.