One of the things we get really excited about is the opportunity to develop an existing relationship into something deeper and more meaningful. This coffee is the product of friendships between people who love and live great coffee, and the conditions were right for this relationship to deepen into repeat buying of some lovely coffees from Honduras.

Honduras is the largest producer of coffee in Central America, and the 4th largest producer of coffee in the world, with coffee representing a full 1/3rd of the country’s agricultural GDP. Primarily known for producing commercial-grade Arabica coffee, the country has risen over the past two decades to produce some very high-quality specialty grade coffees, with many consisting of improved arabica varieties like Lempira and Parainema.

This is our third harvest of this lot, which we’re calling ‘Quiet Sunrise’ because of its pleasant, balanced sweetness and deep fruit flavor. It comes to us courtesy of Misael Ochoa and his farm, Mis Peñitas, located in the Santa Barbara department of Honduras’ western highlands. Over two decades ago, Misael immigrated to the United States to work and help support his family back home. Being so far away, he often reminisced about simpler times when he and his father would work together on coffee farms to earn money and dreamt of returning to Honduras to own his own coffee farm. In 2013, he was able to make that dream a reality and purchased Mis Peñitas. After a few years of producing coffee, in 2015 Misael started working with Exportadora San Vicente for guidance on improving his coffee quality, and a year later he prepared his first micro-lot of specialty coffee.

Grown at 1580 MASL and comprised primarily of the Parainema variety, Quiet Sunrise is a honey processed coffee, meaning that it strikes a nice middle ground between the fruitiness of natural coffees and the clarity and complexity of washed coffees. This coffee is more subtle that previous harvests, and the mild acidity of concord grape develops into deep dried fruit sweetness and finishes with a pleasant sweet-yet-tartness reminiscent of currants. This is a coffee that transports you to those moments when the complexities of life fall away, and we get a moment of deep peace and appreciation for just being present.

We hope you enjoy this lovely coffee – and your next quiet sunrise – as much as we do. Cheers!