Sandra was born in Cofradía, San Miguelito, Intibuca. She is the daughter of coffee producer Maria Juana Antonia Reyes, who also trades her coffee with Boncafe. Sandra is the second of 9 children, she went to school until fourth grade and since very little she was dedicated to the house and farm activities. Her father left the family when she was pretty young, so she and two of her brothers had to work every day to help their mother in the preparation of the soil for the growing of basic grains and sugar cane. She got married at 19 with Benjamin Mendez and moved to Las Mercedes village, where Benjamin was from. Together they had two children, Leticia and Gerardo, now 14 and 16. They settled down there and started to work in agriculture and their first coffee farm. They kept working together and year by year, with the profits of every harvest they bought more lands to continue with the coffee plantation. At 24, she widowed due to a respiratory complication her husband suffered, leaving her with their two children that had 5 and 3 years old at the time. Despite this, she continued working hard in the farm and planting more land. In 2012 she bought a plot of land to her mother in Los Arrayanes village in the Cofradía community where she moved with her children, but when she did, she lost her house and farm lands in Las Mercedes due to her father-in-law claiming that all that she and Benjamin had built together were under his estate. After a while, she got to build her own house once again, this time next to the main road in Cofradía where she lives today with her two children.
Country of Origin
Honduras
Harvest Season
2021/22
Coffee Grade
HND CA WA SHG
Bag Type
Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species
Arabica
Processing
Washed
Variety
Catuai, Pacas, IHCAFE 90, Lempira
Region
Cofradia, San Miguelito, Intibuca
Farm Name
Los Arrayanes
Soil
Clay
History of Coffee in Honduras
Prior to 1900, coffee was essentially a garden crop in Honduras, grown on small lots of land and traded within the country for internal consumption. Less than 10 percent of the coffee harvested was exported in 1894. By 1900, exports had more than doubled, but banana was still king. A decline in banana production over the decades coincided with a slow but steady growth in coffee production. Today, Honduras is the largest coffee producer in Central America, exporting more than 5 million bags last year, and is one of the largest exporters of specialty grade coffee.
Growing Coffee in Honduras
Honduras is somewhat unique in that it experienced the most significant growth in export volume after the emergence of the specialty coffee industry, so new farmers and new mills begin with quality as their goal. Coffee is now pervasive in Honduras, grown in 210 of the 298 municipalities and throughout central and coastal highlands within six districts identified as Coffee Regions. Starting in the north and moving south, the regions are Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, El Paraiso, and Agalta. More than 60 percent of Honduras coffee is grown above 12 hundred meters and as high as 16 hundred. Almost 90 percent of Honduras coffee is grown on small (less than 153 bags) and medium (between 153 and 766 bags) sized farms. Virtually all Honduras coffee (over 90 percent) is washed and sun dried. Plant varieties include Cautuai, Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacas.
