Organic Honduras Santa Rosa - 5 lb Bag

Founded in August 2017, La Asociación de Productores de café San Andrés (ASOPROSAN) is dedicated to improving the livelihoods of its members. The cooperative was formed as an arm of Caja de Ahorro y Crédito Bienestar de COPANTILLO, a local credit union focused on community success. ASOPROSAN members receive technical and financial assistance and are able to market their coffee through the cooperative’s numerous national and international partners.

ASOPROSAN is growing rapidly. In 2018 they became FLO certified. In 2019, they built their offices and now employ 6 permanent employees.

Farms are small and most work is done by the family. Some families hire additional labor during the harvest season. After selective handpicking, farmers process their cherry in order to garner higher prices. Most farmers use hand pulpers to pulp cherry and then ferment it for 24 to 48 hours, depending on ambient temperature. After washing it in clean water to remove the remaining mucilage, parchment is laid in the sun to dry. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying.

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.

EP stands for European Preparation. EP beans are Screen 15+ with a low defect tolerance. 

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.