Tolentino is a twenty nine year-old producer that has been surrounded by coffee since his childhood. He has been working with it and also raising cattle since he was twelve years old, all after graduating from sixth grade of primary school. His father, Mariano de Jesús Ramírez, taught him everything about these activities. At the age of twenty-four, Tolentino became independent after his father gave him 1.40 hectares of land already planted with coffee as inheritance, after that he was able to acquire more land to expand his coffee farm little by little. Today, he has 7.7 hectares of land, which are divided in two farms. El Portillo Azacualpa has 3.5 hectares and a second farm named El Portillo Azacualpa 2 with 4.2 hectares, all planted with Catimoro and Parainema, and both managed organically; Tolentino also provides jobs for around 20 people of his community during the harvest season. He got married to Lucila Rodríguez last year, and now they had twin boys; they all live in the house Tolentino built when he turned twenty six years old, thanks to the profits from the coffee business. This year he was able to buy a car for the first time and will work with it to carry the coffee out of the farm. His plans are to continue expanding his farm and to eventually improve his family house.
Country of Origin
Honduras
Harvest Season
2021/22
Coffee Grade
HND CA WA SHG
Bag Type
Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species
Arabica
Processing
Washed
Variety
Catimor, Parainema
Region
Azacualpa, Tomala, Lempira
Farm Name
El Portillo Azacualpa
History of Coffee in Honduras
Prior to 1900, coffee was essentially a garden crop in Honduras, grown on small lots of land and traded within the country for internal consumption. Less than 10 percent of the coffee harvested was exported in 1894. By 1900, exports had more than doubled, but banana was still king. A decline in banana production over the decades coincided with a slow but steady growth in coffee production. Today, Honduras is the largest coffee producer in Central America, exporting more than 5 million bags last year, and is one of the largest exporters of specialty grade coffee.
Growing Coffee in Honduras
Honduras is somewhat unique in that it experienced the most significant growth in export volume after the emergence of the specialty coffee industry, so new farmers and new mills begin with quality as their goal. Coffee is now pervasive in Honduras, grown in 210 of the 298 municipalities and throughout central and coastal highlands within six districts identified as Coffee Regions. Starting in the north and moving south, the regions are Copan, Opalaca, Montecillos, Comayagua, El Paraiso, and Agalta. More than 60 percent of Honduras coffee is grown above 12 hundred meters and as high as 16 hundred. Almost 90 percent of Honduras coffee is grown on small (less than 153 bags) and medium (between 153 and 766 bags) sized farms. Virtually all Honduras coffee (over 90 percent) is washed and sun dried. Plant varieties include Cautuai, Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, and Pacas.
