About This Coffee
Proexo is the brainchild of producer Juan Madrid who has been a coffee farmer since the 1990s. A combination of changing climates and spreading coffee leaf rust (CLR) convinced Juan that he needed to organize his fellow producers and get involved in economic and social certification programs in order to make coffee cultivation viable once again.
In 2013, a provisional group was organized and attained Rainforest Alliance certification. Today, more than 195 producers are members of Proexo and over 990 families direct benefit from Proexo’s many technical and social programs.
Cultivation
Proexo encourages farmers to diversify their crops. They also provide information, support and financial assistance for farmers to produce organic fertilizers from solid waste, such as coffee pulp and help farmers sell plantains (from shade trees), lemon grass, tilapia and other diversification products.
Proexo helps members become certified in a number of programs including USDA Organic, NOP organic, UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and more.
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.
European Preparation (EP)
EP stands for European Preparation. EP beans are Screen 15+ with a low defect tolerance.
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.