CREMA ORIGINS: HONDURAS SILVESTRE VASQUES

 

THE COFFEE BEANS

Coffee beans grown in the Comayagua region of Honduras include the arabica varietal Catuai and the sub-variety Lempira. The climate provides for hugely biodiverse terrains, both in the lowlands and at higher altitudes.

Lempira is a high-yielding sub-variety of Catimor developed by IHCAFE that was widely planted in Honduras following the coffee leaf rust outbreak that began in 2012, although it has now become susceptible for reasons still unknown at the time of writing. The variety shares its name with Honduras’ currency, the western coffee-growing state of Lempira in Honduras, and the 16th century Lencan war chief who resisted Spanish colonialization.

Catuai is a cross plant between Mundo Novo and Caturra varietals. It’s another short plant with mainly primary branches, and is a high yielding plant that is suitable for heavy weather environments.

The Honduras Silvestres Vasquez single origin coffee will work well in espresso as a black coffee or milk coffee, as well as brew methods designed to bring out the flavours in single origin coffees, such as pour over and cold drip.

Tasting Notes: This coffee exhibits subtle herbal aromas. The front palate displays sweet spices and lime acidity with a big bold body. The finish is clean with a lingering cocoa aftertaste.

 

LOCATION

Honduras, officially known as the Republic of Honduras, is a Central American country with a Caribbean Sea cost and bordered by El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. It is a country known for its rich natural resources, including minerals, fruits, sugar cane and coffee.

Honduras coffee has become more popular in recent years as the quality of the coffee has improved. Historically, it’s primary use was as a base in blends and was sent over the border to Guatemala to get better pricing. The quality was a result of lacking infrastructure, education and regulation. Since the government provided investment in education and processing techniques, as well as community infrastructure for roads and community programmes, Honduras coffee has become recognised as a full-bodied coffee that is both sweet and mild.

Honduras coffees are largely grown towards the western border of the country near Guatemala, with a number of regions emerging as notable coffee growing regions, such as Comayagua.

Comayagua is a city in Honduras, 80km northwest of the capital Tegucigalpa, with around 155,000 occupants. Steeped in history, the city is noted for its wealth of Spanish colonial architecture, and its central square boasts a cathedral with the oldest clock in the Americas.

 

THE COFFEE FARM

The Comayagua microlot farm owned by Silvestre Vásquez and his family in San Abdres, Lempira, Western Honduras, sits at 1500-1600m above sea level, and grows Catuai and Catimor varieties. The Vásquez farm is one of an estimated 100,000 small coffee producers registered in the area.

In an interview with BeanScene Magazine, Vásquez outlined is objective as a small coffee producer growing in a well-known coffee region: “My wish is to be more dedicated, quality orientated, and more consistent.”

Silvestre Vásquez has been a coffee producer for over 22 years. He is initially planted 2,000 coffee plants as an experiment and once he realized that he was getting better results than his family farming sugar, he then focused completely on coffee farming. Vásquez currently has four coffee farms in total and he hopes one day his children will continue to build upon he started.

 

BEAN PROCESSING

This single origin is processed with a fully washed process. The coffee cherry is pulped by a pulper machine, then left to ferment in water with its mucilage for a few days, sometimes longer. Then the mucilage is washed from the beans. This process is often used to produce a higher quality coffee, though it does require a lot of skill and a lot of water.