SINGLE ORIGIN HONDURAS COFFEE
FINCA LA FORTALEZA, MARCALA
What do you know about Honduras? Most of us would freely admit: not a lot. Honduras may not be a bucket list tourist destination like neighbours Guatemala, Costa Rica and Belize but it’s the biggest coffee-growing nation in Central America and the sixth largest on the planet.
Although diverse in terroir, Honduras provides the basic conditions required for growing a range of coffee varietals—fertile soil, high altitudes and average temperatures between 16C and 20C.
Honduran coffees are renowned for fruitiness and sweetness, which is why they often find their way into blends, but Santiago, our Coffee Treasure Hunter, has picked an amazing coffee from the Marcala municipality in south-western Honduras that typifies the region.
GROWN IN SHADE AT HIGH ALTITUDE
What makes this coffee special? Firstly, and most importantly, it tastes great. Bright and clear like a break in the clouds on a summer’s day.
Expect fresh, zesty notes of sweet orange balanced with smooth almonds and sweet caramel.
Three factors particularly influence the taste. Firstly, the coffee at Finca La Fortaleza and surrounding farms, is grown at high altitude, between 1245m and 1670m. Even for mountainous Central America this is high. At higher altitudes temperatures are usually cooler, which means plants grow slower and the beans have time to develop more complex natural sugars.
Secondly, the coffee grows in shade. Again, the shade has the effect of slowing the growth rate, allowing sugars to develop. The result is a sweeter and complex coffee with a pleasant acidity.
Thirdly, the coffee trees grow alongside native fruit trees. (Remember: coffee is not indigenous to the Americas; it was introduced by European traders in the 18th century.) Fallen fruit adds valuable nutrients to the soil and produces higher quality beans.
AN ETHICAL COOPERATIVE
Another reason to love this coffee is because it’s produced in an ethical way. One of our goals is to do what we can to support small, independent growers with an ethical approach to farming.
Finca La Fortaleza is the showcase farm of the COMSA cooperative in the Marcala municipality in southwestern Honduras—not that far, as the coffee bean flies, from the border with El Salvador.
Marcala is known for its coffee production, boasting the first "protected origin denomination" in Honduras. Not only is it protected but the coffees produced by COMSA members follow strict, sustainable agricultural practices complying with organic and Rainforest Alliance standards.
COMSA was founded in 2001 by 65 farmers who set up a community bank scheme and quickly realised that selling coffee through the organic market was a path to profitability. Currently the cooperative represents over 1200 small coffee growers, of which 400 are women.
Once a month they provide training at Finca La Fortaleza, giving members, who attend for free, access to a chromatography machine to analyse soil to see what nutrients are lacking and create recipes for organic fertilisers.
VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
We hope you enjoy this feel-good coffee that represents the very best of Honduras. We’re on a mission to bring you different varieties and styles of coffee grown across the globe—unique, characterful, single origin coffees that represent every terroir and sit comfortably alongside Classico, our award-winning house blend. You don’t have to be a connoisseur to enjoy them, just a curious coffee lover.
IN SUMMARY
Sourced from: Finca La Fortaleza, Marcala, La Paz, Honduras
Farmer: COMSA co-operative
Altitude: 1245-1670m
Strength: Medium roast
Taste: Sweet orange, almonds and caramel
