Alex Ponce Washed

Honduras – The etymology of the word Honduras translates to “depths.” The country has an endless depth of history, culture, diversity, and potential. Home to direct Mayan descendants some of the most well-preserved Mayan ruins in the world, Honduras is a proud and persistent country. Honduras is also one of the most diverse places in the Western Hemisphere, boasting over 700 species of birds, over 100 species of mammals, over 6,000 species of plants, and more species being discovered regularly. The diversity, tenacity, climate, and rich volcanic soil all build the stage for coffee farmers to prosper. However, sometimes there are obstacles that are not so easily overcome. 

Honduras has quietly become the largest coffee-producing country in Central America. While it may not have the prestige as some of its neighbors like Guatemala, Costa Rica, or El Salvador, Honduras has been exporting more coffee than any other nation in the region, coming in as the seventh largest in the world for coffee export. 

Due to a heavier focus on volume, Honduras has not been known for high quality. Transport and processing infrastructure in Honduras pose some problems. Poor processing leads to inferior quality coffee, even if the coffee was grown in perfect conditions. Honduran farmers would often smuggle their crop into neighboring Guatemala, El Salvador, or Nicaragua to fetch higher prices. This led to some of the best coffee in Honduras getting sold as coffee from those other places.    

Honduran producers also battle against coffee leaf rust, a fungal infection that leads to loss of leaves and prevents cherry development. It spreads quickly, and for smallholder farmers, which comprise 95% of coffee farmers in Honduras, it could mean total crop devastation. Little support to the farmers was given for a long time, leading them to take matters into their own hands.    

Many farmers have banded together into small, supportive networks. Some groups have formed cooperatives that have been certified by organizations like Fair Trade. Others have simply pooled their resources together to purchase centralized mills that they own collectively and have improved their processing methods. Through the hard work and diligence of specialty-focused producers, the perception and quality of Honduran coffee have changed. 

We are proud to offer two coffees from Alex Ponce, a washed Catuai and a Natural Catuai from his farm in the Marcala region, located in the La Paz department in Southern Honduras. Alex is originally from Santa Barbara, but he found the opportunity to buy a farm in the department of La Paz. 

Despite being just 90 miles south of Santa Barbara, La Paz coffees highlight how diverse the coffees of Honduras can be. Due to higher elevations and cooler evenings in La Paz, coffee cherries are given more time to ripen and mature resulting in sweeter characteristics and often notes of stone fruits. Alex also processes his coffee on the farm, hand-picking cherries when they are bright red and drying the processed coffee on raised, sun-exposed beds. 

The result is often 20-25 bags of exportable green coffee, which is just shy of 2,000 kilograms. Compared to the nearly 440 million kilograms of coffee that is produced in Honduras per year, this is amount is just a small drop in the bucket. Yet, his focus remains on quality over quantity and is highlighted in every cup his coffee produces.