Name: El Filo
Location: El Cedral, Santa Barbara
Farm Size: 3.5 hectares
Altitude (masl): 1550
Average Annual Rainfall (mm): 750
Processing: Washed
Variety: Pacas

About

In 2005, Miguel Moreno returned to Honduras after working for many years in the US to support the family farm. That year, his neighbor, Mr. Benitez, won the 2nd Honduras Cup of Excellence competition. Mr. Benitez didn’t make it to the awards ceremony, so Miguel accepted it instead. This experience changed Miguel’s view on coffee production and his interest in farming was born.

Daniel Moreno, patriarch of the Moreno family, split up El Filo into five lots (keeping one for himself and calling it “El Campo”). El Filo is split into eight lots, with Miguel’s son Dolmin most recently receiving his own plot to manage. In 2007, Miguel’s lot won 4th place at the CoE competition, with 90.6 points. In each subsequent year until 2010, his coffees placed well at competition. Motivated by the successes of his coffees and his neighbours’ successes (more than half of CoE winners were now coming from the Santa Barbara region), Miguel and his brothers began looking for a buyer for all the coffee produced at El Filo. The brothers have bought more land at a higher altitude and decided to plant more unique varieties there. Because production will substantially increase in the coming years, they have already invested in good quality equipment, which will be able to handle these increased volumes.

Due to his hard work, dedication, innovation and investments, we decided to enter into a long-term partnership with the entire Moreno family and in 2011, we received the first of these shipments. And we are happy to say that cupping scores have increased year after year.

Although the Moreno brothers work closely together, the lots of each family member( his brothers and father)are processed separately, which is why we label each lot distinctly. Following from unique and individualized practices, each lot cups distinctly and differently.

We are proud and excited about the progress of these relationships and looking forward to even better quality coffee in the years ahead.

Background

Since the beginning of our work in Santa Barbara, Honduras, which started before CCS even existed through our sister-company KAFFA Oslo (a roaster), the relationships we’ve developed within this region have been some of the strongest and most exciting of all the relationships we have in all the coffee origins we work with.

What started out as purchasing coffee from a mere handful of farmers has expanded to our working with almost 40 producers across 4 municipalities. And the growth is only increasing, which is good since a high demand for these coffees have developed over the years. Still, there is more demand than there is supply and we still need to be scrutinizing and picky to get the really good stuff. The great news is that more and more farmers are becoming ambitious and know what the market is demanding.

Santa Barbara is an area that has, over the years, become recognized namely by some of the very same producers we have developed close ties with. And more broadly, Honduras has made a strong name for itself in the coffee world. For example, in this year’s Cup of Excellence (2016), Honduras was put on the map as an origin that has a variety of varieties that now include geisha. Some of these coffees are scoring the high 80s and are even reaching 90s, thus fetching historically high auction prices (worldwide) at +$120/lb.

There are three major developments that we are excited about sharing with respect to our work in Santa Barbara (SB) this year:

1) A new price agreement

We have raised the bar and so necessarily, the price. The fact that the market is still low should not matter to the long-standing and loyal producers of the greatest coffees around.

Our goal always from the beginning is to only buy 86+ point coffee. Practically, some of the lots we have purchased from SB have been at 85 points. In agreeing to work with someone long-term, there needs to be support even and, perhaps especially, during the times that not all the factors are at their optimal.

Today, we happily report that there are more 86-point coffees than ever before and consequently, we are raising prices for the considerable efforts made. We are paying more than ever. On the other hand, if the coffees are less than 86, we are also paying less.

The prices this year range from $3.00/lb to $4.50/lb FOB and in today’s market, these prices are very high. Our farmer partners not only expressed gratitude for our continued relationship and support but they are re-investing in land, facilities, their families and their children’s education. Some of the farmers we’ve worked with longest are truly prospering.

2) Deforestation is not accepted!

The demand for coffee has pressured/tempted an increasing number of farmers to cut adjacent natural forest in order to plant more coffee. The consequences of these practices are devastating and we have expressed a strict opposition to this. To be clear, CCS will not buy coffee from newly deforested areas and we’ve met with the mayor of one of the municipalities in order to show even more strength and support for this message.

3) Processing: drying & shade

As we’ve come to learn, one of the key factors in making good quality coffee is processing. It is also clear that the process itself, and the drying stage in particular, is making for a more or less long-lived cup quality. This is becoming increasingly important in SB as the international recognition for the area rises and the prices go up.

Roasters need for green coffee to keep up their quality months after arrival. A fading coffee feels demoralizing to all of us and is oftentimes not an understood or experienced phenomenon by the farmer. Some are educating themselves about this and taking the need for solutions seriously.

As a general rule our partners have been implementing slower drying of the parchment under shade in order to protect it from direct sunlight during the first steps of the drying process. This has proven favorable.

Although this is currently one of the investments we are seeing in the field, just four years it was rare to see farmers drying their own coffee in the first place. These days, some are very proud of their being masters of the processing craft.