About This Coffee
Cafes Especiales Corquin, S. A. de C. V (CAFESCOR) was founded in 2012 by a group of producers seeking to establish sustainable livelihoods. Today, CAFESCOR is a leader in certified coffee production in Honduras and is helping member farmers produce high-quality coffees and receive sustainable incomes.
CAFESCOR is also dedicated to ending child labor. In addition to educating members about child welfare, CAFESCOR supports programs that offer recreation and education for children.
Cultivation
Member farms are located at 1,200 to 1,700 meters above sea level. The high altitudes, combined with adequate rainfall and ideal temperatures create best microclimate for cultivating sweet, dense cherry.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee is selectively handpicked by member producers and delivered to CAFESCOR’s wet mill. At the wet mill, cherry is visually sorted and pulped. Coffee is fermented, washed in clean water and laid on patios to predry. During predrying, workers inspect wet parchment and remove any damaged beans. Then, parchment is dried in a mechanical dryer that slowly dries parchment to 12% moisture. It takes approximately 33 to 35 hours for parchment to dry. Parchment is stored in a temperature controlled room until it is prepared for export.
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.