Honduras Origin Trip 2019

Fruits of our labour cherry picking

Masteroast Origin Trip to Honduras.

Our visit started from our base in San Pedro Sula to the Puerto Cortes just north of San Pedro Sula. The Port manages the largest volume of traffic in Central America, moving not only all of the coffee produced in Honduras but a good volume from Guatemala as well. 

Trip to Puerto Cortez

​The following day we headed inland to Santa Rosa de Copa to visit one of our principal suppliers, Coffee Planet Corporation. Douglas Urquia and his team made us feel very welcome, providing us with a tour of the milling facility and explaining the philosophy behind the business. We were then presented with a mix of past crop Microlots as well as some of the initial harvest of this season, which was a fascinating exercise. There was a clear favourite on the table which was a pulped natural displaying a “marzipan” flavour as coined by Karen Stockwell.

Omar Rodriquez a 4th Generation Coffee farmer and General Manager of Capucas cooperative, then lead the team up the mountain and provided some insights in Small Holder farming as well as Coop management. By the time we the cabins where we would be spending the night, it was already dark. In the morning the team awoke from their cabins which we realised were right in the middle of the coffee farms and presented with spectacular views as well as a hearty breakfast. 

​An early start into the mountains to see the coffee growing at high altitudes, seeing the fertilizers created as part of their projects in use on the coffee plants and also a coffee plant which has sustained coffee leaf rust damage(La Roya) and the devastating effects it can have on a farm should it spread to the rest of the crop, something all too real for these farmers still recovering from the widespread damage this caused in the early part of the decade and something they are working hard to keep at bay for the sakes of their families livelihood and future. We tried our hand at cherry picking and manually wet processing the cherries we picked to see just how labour intensive the process is, then we got to plant our very own saplings and name them so that in 2 years’ time they will bare their fruits.

Karen and her proudly planted sapling

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Omar then gave us a tour of Café Capucas factory, along with a cupping of the first harvests. The Coop is very proud of their range of projects* they have running parallel their coffee plants for an additional source of sustainable income, so they are not solely reliant on the coffee industry. 

Our trip wasn’t all about coffee, we got to immerse ourselves in the history of Copan with a visit to the Mayan ruins dating back to the 5th to 9th Century AD.  We also got to have a dip in the most famous Hot springs in Honduras “Luna Jaguar” in the small community of Arcilaca. As well as a tour around the Flor de Copan Imperial cigar factory in Santa Rosa.  We were also invited to several evening meals with our hosts during our trip to some fabulous local eateries serving local cuisine as well as an invite to dinner at one of our hosts personal home, a testament to the hospitality shown throughout our stay in Honduras. 

Throughout the trip I was taken a back by the hospitality shown from all of our partners and the country as a whole. This was never clearer than our visit to an old friend of Matthew’s, William Dunaway at Inaginsa. The team were treated to a wonderful dinner at William’s house which ran long into the night and provided a great chance to try the cigars we had picked up at the cigar factory. In the morning the tour of the exporting facility was impressive as the Inaginsa were just starting to receive the first parchment deliveries. The level of quality control and attention to detail, especially on the traceability was a real highlight. ​

Capucas QA facilities

​We then carried on to visit a medium sized farm fairly close by. It was great to be able to see the contract between small holder producers and medium sized farms. What impressed the tour was the interest and knowledge shown at farm level, especially on things like Natural Process Coffees which were clearly a big topic. 

​A visit to Honducafé and the signing of a Carbon Neutral initiative, the first of its kind in Honduras and something they are very proud of as just one of the projects this family run business is involved with, was a unique opportunity and a great way to start to bring the tour to a close. The whole team as Co.Honducafe were on site to host us and give us a tour of their new Milling facility (just next to the older one). The level of efficiency was incredible to see and the scale of the operation was mind blowing. For the tour to have seen all of the different scales of business, from small holder producing and Coop management, to medium sized farms and Exporting business, all the way to the largest shipper in the country was a real treat. 

Justin, flexing his muscles in the drying beds

​After a visit to the IH Café facilities to see the record keeping, quality control processes and to listen to the plans for the future of coffee in Honduras it was time to head back to the hotel for a well deserved drink and to enjoy a lovely Honduran cigar.

Group Mountain side photo

I would like to say a special thank you our supply partners and friends; Mirna and Gerardo (Gerry) from C&C Café who organised, managed and looked after us throughout the trip. This was a truly special trip and one the whole tour will remember. ​

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Fundación Amigos del Café - Diversification of income.

honey_capucas.pdf
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​School Means - Promotion and Education for Healthy Eating

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School Bag Project - Providing children the tools to succeed.

school_bag_ingles.pdf
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