Honduras San Andres SHG

Origin: Honduras
Region: Lempira
Town: San Andres
Owner: Producers working with Bicafe Honduras
Co-Op Washing Station: 25 producers in San Andres Lempira
Varietal: Catuai, IHCAFE 90, Lempira, Pacas
Grade: SHG EP
Altitude: 1600-1800 masl
Harvest: November – April
Processing: Fully Washed
Tasting Notes: Nutty, sweet with notes of cacao nibs and honey.

Honduras is a small yet mighty coffee producer. The country boasts the largest per capita coffee production in the world. Beginning in 2017, Honduras began placing in third place for Arabica production volume globally. For this slot, they compete with Ethiopia—a country 10 times larger than Honduras. The two countries trade between third and fourth place annually, but the achievement is impressive, nonetheless.

Honduras has everything it needs to become a premier specialty coffee producer. The country has the right growing conditions, abundant fertile soils and soaring altitudes (nearly all farms are at more than 1,000 meters above sea level), plus a variety of microclimates.

Beginning in the early 2000s the industry began to focus on quality. Improved infrastructure (better mechanical dryers, centralized wet mills, an increasing number of solar dryers), quality control/assurance trainings (separating lots by qualities, cupping schools, etc.), the rise of specialty-focused exporters, increased volumes of certified coffees and the strengthening cooperative movement all have worked in tandem to make Honduran coffee ‘one to watch’.

It is only in more recent years that coffee production in Honduras has reached specialty levels comparable to other Central American countries, but specialty roasters are responding with enthusiasm. In 2017, a lot in the Cup of Excellence garnered the highest price ever paid for a Cup of Excellence coffee in any country: $124.50 per pound (approximately $56.50 per kg).

Above all, while Honduras increasingly offers high end microlots, what the country arguably represents overall is exceptional value. Quality has improved massively over the last 15 years, and in addition to unique specialty lots, the country offers very solid, clean blenders at very attractive prices.

This Fully washed lot is sourced from 25 producers who grow coffee in San Andres Lempira. San Andres Lempira is unique in Honduras for its culture of sun-drying coffee on patios. Most farmers in Honduras use mechanical dryers to dry parchment but farmers in San Andres Lempira continue to use the sun drying method to carefully and slowly dry parchment.

Producers cultivate Pacas, Catuai, Lempira and IHCAFE 90 on farms that are approximately 0.5 to 20 hectares in size. Their farms sit at 1,600 to 1,800 meters above sea level. The high altitudes create the ideal conditions for cultivating sweet, dense cherry.

Harvest & Post-Harvest

Farmers selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farms. Since farms are small, most labor is performed by the family, but some larger farms may hire additional laborers during the harvest season.

Once harvested, cherry is pulped in hand pulpers and fermented in concrete tanks. Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water. Parchment is laid on patios to sundry. Farmers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. Producers deliver dry parchment to Bicafe’s warehouse in San Andres Lempira. Parchment is sent to Bicafe’s mill in Santa Rosa de Copan to be dry milled and prepared for export.

SHG

Strictly High Grown (SHG) specifies the altitude at which the coffee was grown. A coffee must be grown at 1,200 meters above sea level or higher to be considered SHG. The higher altitude and lower temperatures mean that the coffee fruit matures more slowly, creating a denser bean.