<h2>Honduras Cerro Bueno</h2> <p>This Fully washed coffee from Cerro Bueno estate bears the Café Marcala Denomination of Origin, the first of its kind in Central America and it’s easy to see why.</p> <p>Cerro Bueno Estate focuses on growing high quality coffee at 1,550 meters above sea level in the Montecillos mountain range. The estate has the Café Marcala Denomination of Origin, the first of its kind in Central America. </p> <h2>Cultivation</h2> <p>Coffee is shade grown using species that will protect and renew the environment and local wildlife populations.  </p> <p>This coffee is also Organic, which means that it was grown without the use of any artificial fertilizers or pesticides. Organic farming can also include ecologically-focus farming method that aim to reduce erosion, increase irrigation and improve overall soil health. With the help of an organic certification, producers receive higher prices and they, their families and any workers on their farm are not exposed to dangerous chemicals. Fewer chemicals used on a farm also means less run off and fewer chemicals finding their way into our global water systems.</p> <h2>Harvest &amp; Post-Harvest</h2> <p>At Cerro Bueno, coffee is selectively handpicked and then pulped using an ecopulper. After a dry fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and then mechanically dried for 36 hours.  </p> <p>Dried parchment is then bagged in GrainPro and stored in a warehouse for 1 month. After resting, parchment is transported to San Pedro Sula in Cortes, to the CADEXSA ('Cafe de Exportacion SA) dry mill. </p> <h2>Coffee in Honduras</h2> <p>Honduras is a small yet mighty coffee producer. The country boasts the largest per capita coffee production in the world. Beginning in 2017, Honduras began placing in third place for Arabica production volume globally. For this slot, they compete with Ethiopia—a country 10 times larger than Honduras.  The two countries trade between third and fourth place annually, but the achievement is impressive, nonetheless.</p> <p>Honduras has everything it needs to become a premier specialty coffee producer. The country has the right growing conditions, abundant fertile soils and soaring altitudes (nearly all farms are at more than 1,000 meters above sea level), plus a variety of microclimates.</p> <p>Beginning in the early 2000s the industry began to focus on quality. Improved infrastructure (better mechanical dryers, centralized wet mills, an increasing number of solar dryers), quality control/assurance trainings (separating lots by qualities, cupping schools, etc.), the rise of specialty-focused exporters, increased volumes of certified coffees and the strengthening cooperative movement all have worked in tandem to make Honduran coffee ‘one to watch’.</p> <p>It is only in more recent years that coffee production in Honduras has reached specialty levels comparable to other Central American countries, but specialty roasters are responding with enthusiasm. In 2017, a lot in the Cup of Excellence garnered the highest price ever paid for a Cup of Excellence coffee in any country: $124.50 per pound (approximately $56.50 per kg).</p> <p>Above all, while Honduras increasingly offers high end microlots, what the country arguably represents overall is exceptional value. Quality has improved massively over the last 15 years, and in addition to unique specialty lots, the country offers very solid, clean blenders at very attractive prices.</p> <p></p>