About This Coffee
Dionicio Bajurto lives and farms in Belén Guacho in Octotepeque, Honduras. The Belén Guacho region is recognized for its superb conditions for coffee production. The high altitudes of 1,650 meters above sea level, combined with Dionicio’s careful attention to detail mean this Fully washed Organic lot is silky and sweet with chocolate and brown sugar.
Focusing on specialty coffee production has enabled Dionicio to support his family. He was able to invest in education for his children and improve his family’s overall quality of life.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Dionicio and his family selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on the farm. Cherry is inspected and then pulped. Coffee is fermented and then, following fermentation, washed in clean water. Parchment is laid to sundry in a solar dryer at Dionicio’s house. Dionicio and his family rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying.
Coffee in Honduras
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.