About This Coffee
SOLCAFE Export (SoEx) was founded in 2017 to connect small-scale coffee producers in Honduras with the global specialty coffee market. Its goal is to improve farmers’ incomes by strengthening the marketing chain and creating added value for both producers and end customers. The company was established under a sustainability and productivity project that brings together more than 350+ producers from 6 cooperatives from Copán, Ocotepeque, Santa Bárbara, Intibucá, Lempira and La Paz.
SoEx is dedicated to exporting Honduran Arabica coffee, with a primary focus on specialty and certified lots. Their philosophy is to promote coffees from small producers, grown with a strong commitment to quality and sustainability.
Cultivation
Ninety percent of SoEx coffee comes from small-scale farms averaging five hectares. These farms follow sustainable production standards grounded in good agricultural practices and agroforestry systems, where the conservation of soil, water and wildlife is a central priority. This lot is Certified Organic, meaning it was produced according to strict guidelines and no chemical fertilizers or pesticides were used.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Farmers selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farms. They pulp and ferment cherry before washing parchment in clean water. They lay parchment to dry on patios or in greenhouses. The majority of lots are sun dried on patios and in greenhouses. Farmers 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.