| Country | Honduras |
|---|---|
| Farm | Los Potreros |
| Varietal | Arabica Geisha |
| Processing | Honey |
| Crop | May 2023 |
| Partnership | 2 years |
| Coffee type | Whole bean |
About coffee
Esmelin grows a small amount of geisha variety coffee trees on his farm. These are still young trees, which showed signs of wind damage during our visit. The stress experienced by trees sometimes paradoxically transforms itself in the taste of coffee in a positive way. The flavors of tropical fruits such as mango are beautifully defined in this coffee, complemented by the sweetness of honey and an elegant floral aroma.
The coffee was honey processed. It means that a thin layer of pulp is left on the beans, with which it is then dried on covered African beds. Thanks to this, the coffee has a higher sweetness and a slightly creamy body.
Los Potreros Farm
Although Esmelin comes from a coffee family, he is a relative newcomer as a coffee farmer. He works as a bank officer, and only a few years ago he bought 3 hectares of land from his grandfather, on which he planted mostly parainema coffee trees.
With the support of his cousin, he discovered the potential of specialty coffee, and now you have the opportunity to taste one of his first harvests.
Benjamin Paz
We discovered coffees from Honduras thanks to the charismatic Benjamin Paz, who took over the management of the San Vincente processing plant and export company after his father. Ben works closely with farmers in the Santa Barbara region, helping them turn the region's potential into great coffee. He connects small family farms with roasters that share the same philosophy.
Benjamin is also a successful farmer on his own who won first place in the prestigious Cup of Excellence competition in 2022 with his geisha.
From an unknown region to a star on the coffee map
For a long time Honduras was an unknown territory for us. The largest coffee producing country in Central America has been focusing mainly on commodity coffee. Over the last few years, also with the help of producers and exporters from Santa Barbara, the situation has changed significantly. We purchased our first Honduran coffee in the year 2015. From the very beginning, we decided to buy from Mr. Edwin Pineda and his family.
Hurricane recovery
In 2020, hurricanes Eta and Iota swept through Central America, significantly affecting coffee farmers. They brought with them heavy rains that caused floods and landslides in many places. Benjamin Paz organized a crowdfunding campaign to restore the housing of coffee farmers in the Santa Barbara region of Honduras, and we decided to donate all proceeds from the sale of Mr. Montenegro's coffee from the El Poste farm. Thanks to you, we managed to raise CZK 150,000
Update 2023
So far, 30 houses have been build and another 50 will be ready early this year. They are also building a clinic, a kindergarten and primary school and a municipal building in the village.
