Honduras SHG Microlot - Anastacio Benitez Diaz *TOP LOT*

This is a washed SHG Red Catuai microlot from producer Anastacio Benitez Diaz and his farm El Izote in the Celaque region of western Honduras.

THE PRODUCER

Anastacio is a farmer from the community of Gualdalla, a humble village located in the municipality of San Sebastian, Lempira; hometown of his parents. Anastacio lived the first 6 years of his life there until his parents decided to move to San Sebastian so he could attend school. After a few years Anastacio dropped out of school to farm grains with his father.

Five years later his mother decided to build their own house in the community of El Remolino. To help fund the new house, Anastacio, who was only 15 at the time, started to travel with his friends to hand-pick coffee during harvesting season. One day on his way home from Corquin he brought with him around two pounds of coffee seeds to start his own nursery which he planted on a half-hectare in an area called El Izote.

In 1998, he harvested the first cherries from his farm and sold them to local intermediaries. He used the funds to reinvest in fertilizer and land until he had a full hectare. In 2001, he decided to rent a pulping machine so he could process himself. He would ferment the coffee in polyethylene bags, wash it in baskets and dry it on polyethylene awnings.

Today, Anastacio, his parents and brothers are all engaged in the production and trading of coffee, which now consists of 14.79 hectares of production spread over 4 farms. He and his family currently live in El Remolino, Agua Fria community, Lempira.

THE PROCESS

Harvesting is carried out selectively and by hand. Ripe cherries are mechanically pulped and fermented in concrete tanks for 12-16 hours depending on ambient conditions. After thorough washing, the parchment coffee is sun-dried on concrete patios for 6-8 days (until the optimum moisture content is reached.) At this point the coffee is rested in a clean, cool and dry environment before secondary processing (milling, grading, sorting).