A series of educational articles focusing on artisans that produce some of the world's finest specialty coffees
We are partnering with a few award-winning artisan coffee producers to create a series of educational articles and videos that provide an insider's perspective on the world of specialty coffee - from origin to cup.
The five Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador comprise one of the finest coffee growing regions in the world. It is the combination of high altitudes, temperate microclimates, and soil composition (terroir) that makes this region an ideal place to grow premium quality coffee.
We are proud to feature two family-owned, award-winning artisan coffee growers from this region.
Finca Vista Hermosa in Huehuetenango, GuatemalaFinca Vista Hermosa (translated: Beautiful View) is a legacy of three generations of coffee lovers who have poured their hearts into the rich land of Huehuetenango. The United States purchases more specialty coffee from Guatemala than from any other country in the world. Because it is situated in the highlands, Huehuetenango coffees are among the more coveted coffees of altitude from Guatemala.
Today the third generation of the Martinez family, headed by Edwin (Eddie) and his wife Nina, are carrying on the rich tradition of sacrifice and quality work. The owners are focused on a level of quality control and hands-on care that results in an amazingly clean and consistent coffee with exceptional flavor characteristics. This requires sacrifice and commitment that costs far more in terms of time and money than most coffee farms are willing to dedicate. But the results speak for themselves in the awards that the coffees have received, including placing 8th in the 2007 Guatemala Cup of Excellence®, and the flavor in the cup of each Finca Vista Hermosa microlot.
The focus on quality, consistency and flavor in the cup is no accident for Finca Vista Hermosa. Edwin and his wife Nina are the only husband and wife couple in the world where both are licensed Q Graders through the Coffee Quality Insititute. In addition, Edwin placed 7th in the 2008 World Cup Tasting Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Click here to read the entire article written by Edwin Martinez.
Jake Liefer of Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea traveled to Finca Vista Hermosa and shares his experience on video. Click here to view the video.
Finca Santa Marta in Tegucigalpita, HondurasHonduras has only in the past few years focused on the specialty coffee market and therefore not yet achieved the recognition of some of its Latin American neighbors. That is changing very rapidly, with a few small, family-owned coffee plantations such as Finca Santa Marta successfully cultivating and producing premium quality coffees.
The Hawit Chirinos family has been in the coffee business for four generations. From the beginning the Hawit vision was to focus on plantations of smaller production but intensely oriented to a high quality cup, planting varieties like Bourbon and Caturra on land that was, at the time of its purchase, sparsely planted with the Typica varietal.
Roberto Hawit Castro purchased the Finca Santa Marta property in 1965, and dedicated the next 40 years to grow, expand and perfect the coffee business, culminating in top recognition for his coffees in Cup of Excellence® competitions. During the crop years of 2003-2004, Finca Santa Marta participated in its first ever Honduran Cup of Excellence® (COE) and placed among the top coffees for auction. Two years later, after Robert Hawit passed away and his wife Cristina and their two older children Raúl and Munir Hawit assumed the management of Finca Santa Marta, the success and recognition of their Pacamara coffee continued. During the crop years of 2005-2006, Finca Santa Marta participated for a second time in the COE and its Pacamara Bandeira coffee won 1st place.
It is this award-winning Pacamara Bandeira coffee that Ana Lucia Lardizábal de Hawit, a barista at Cafeteo in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and wife of Raúl Hawit, used to win the inaugural Honduras Barista Championship and qualify for the World Barista Championship. She represented Honduras in the 2008 World Barista Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark and placed an excellent 15th out of 53 competitors.
