Honduras - Jose Cruz Rodriguez Marquez

Grape, apple, honey, candied almond

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TOP LOT

Bag Weight	69 KG BAG
Harvest Season	2021/22
Status	Spot
Lot Number	P609557-3

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About This Coffee

Before getting into coffee, José used to work with the cattle and lands his father had. He went to school until the fourth grade, as he did not want to keep studying. Once he was a teenager, his father gave him a plot of land, where he decided to plant coffee. Unfortunately, José’s father passed away and since then he took charge and continued helping his mother, convincing her to plant coffee as well, which she agreed. Eventually, he expanded his mother’s farm and also was able to expand his plot, with the profits earned in past crops and some other savings he had, he could build his own house. At the age of twenty-three, he got married and started to grow his family, today, José has 3 children and all live in the house he built. Besides taking care of his coffee, he has two cows to produce milk and dairy products for their own consumption, and is still supporting his mother with all the things related to her farm. José started trading his coffee with Boncafe in 2013 and since then, he has adopted many good new farm practices in order to increase his production without negatively impacting the environment, such as honey waters treatment, re-use of the pulp waste to turn it into organic fertilizer, reforestation with fruit and timber trees, mowing and cleaning the farm manually, among others.

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	Bourbon, Catimor, Catuai, Lempira

Region	Aldea Nueva, Tomala, Lempira
Farm Name	El Amate
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.