About This Coffee
Siguatepeque lies in the central Honduran highland department of Comayagua. The area is known as one of Honduras’ biggest fruit and vegetable producing areas, thanks to the mild climate and ample rainfall. Smallholders in the mountains surrounding the lush valley around Siguatepeque produce the coffee for this specialty blend. Their farms, nestled in the Montecillos mountain range, sit at about 1,200 meters above sea level.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
After selective handpicking, farmers process their cherry into parchment. Most farmers use hand pulpers to pulp cherry and then ferment it for 24 to 48 hours, depending on ambient temperature. After washing them to remove the remaining mucilage, parchment is laid in the sun to dry. Farmers rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying.
COHORSIL’s dry mill is equipped with top-of-the-line equipment. Intake at the dry mill involves an inspection and sorting process that ensures all accepted parchment is of high quality. Lots are kept separate according to the altitude at which they were grown. Once accepted, the parchment rests in the COHORSIL’s warehouse for six weeks.
After resting, the parchment is hulled and graded. There is a careful selection process for lots that will be added to the El Calan blend. Beans are evaluated by region, cup quality, and physical size and appearance.
The cooperative also handles marketing members’ coffees and works to get the best prices available on the market for that quality.
About COHORSIL
The Cooperativa Cafetalera Siguatepeque Limitada, or COHORSIL, was founded in 1980 in Siguatepeque, a town in the Montecillos mountain range. The 12 founding members originally sold agricultural supplies but they soon saw the need for a credit system and more technical assistance for farmers.
COHORSIL has been exporting member coffees since 2000. Their operations continue to expand to address the needs of smallholder farmers in Honduras. Technical staff are spread across their members’ regions to help provide the best support possible. Today, the cooperative provides loans, sustainability training, technical support and agricultural services to its more than 580 members. COHORSIL’s support package improves production and quality, which, in turn, translates into higher returns for the producing communities. They also help producers adapt and diversify by offering other varieties of seeds, including vegetables, to help farmers weather a turbulent coffee market more easily. In addition to 13 ecological agricultural product stores across Honduras, COHORSIL also owns wet and dry mills. Their dry mill can process nearly 55,000-60kg bags of coffee annually.
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.