New Coffee: Finca Genesis from Honduras
Honduras is the largest producer of coffee in Central America and also one of our all time favourites. After countless cuppings of samples from this origin, we’re confident to say that coffee from Santa Barbara rarely disappoints. Now, pick up the cup in front of you and take a sip. Can you taste soft fruit notes and the sweet lemonade finish?
Roberto likes to look back at many busy harvesting seasons when he was helping out his father as a child. Each season left everyone exhausted but filled with pride. Learning everything about coffee from his father, he decided to stay true to traditional practices and varietals.
At the age of 20, he became the manager of his father’s farm and acquired his own land 10 years later. Finca Genesis is a 3.5 acre farm that provides year-round employment to 4 people and 15 pickers during harvest.
With an altitude of 1550m, it is surrounded by tropical rainforest which creates unique microclimates for the coffee trees to grow. The coffee is shade grown to help keep the ideal temperature, prevent soil erosion and conserve water. Roberto takes just as much care of the shade trees as the coffee trees – he knows it’s a good practice that leads to healthy crops.
IHCAFE's support for growers in Honduras
IHCAFE or Honduras Coffee Research Institute organized coffee growers into six regions growing specific varieties: Copán, Agalta, El Paraíso, Comayagua, Opalaca, Montecillo. Thanks to the institute’s efforts, small farmers get the much needed promotion online and also have researchers and technicians available to learn from about best practices.
Roberto’s farm is located in the Copán region that is famous for coffee with strong sweet, chocolate and citric notes and heavy, creamy body.
One thing that we’re looking for when sourcing beans is to see producers tirelessly working on improving the quality of the crop, season after season. And Roberto is on to it! He invites the IHCAFE technicians to check the production conditions on his farm regularly.
The equipment in Peña Blanca washing mill is calibrated by them too. The fermentation (which can take between 12 – 15 hours) is carefully monitored and the beans are then solar dried.
All this effort shows in a beautiful cup of coffee. Roberto was over the moon when he won the 19th place in the 2017 Honduras Cup of Excellence with Finca Genesis Lot 19. Two years later, be sure that it’s still excellent (if not even better!).The cherries then pass through the depulper and mucilage removal machine. Mushonyi is equipped with a state of the art Pinhalense eco-pulper. The machine integrates the flotation process and mechanical mucilage removal. All parts of the process require attention to detail to ensure the highest quality.
