Coffee Analysis: Organic Honduras Honey Process Coffee

Honduras is Central America’s largest coffee-producing country. However, it wasn’t considered among its best specialty producers until relatively recently. Despite its reputation for producing mild, blending coffees, Honduran producers have very clearly raised the stakes. Evidently, they have been producing some excellent coffees of late. Royal Coffee New York is proud to work with several local cooperatives and was able to source this honey process coffee lot from our friends at COMSA. COMSA is a well-known organic-only coop, this season.

Jose Cecilio Rodri­guez is a third-generation coffee producer and owner of Finca El Plan. He joined COMSA in 2002, but has been producing coffee without chemical assistance for years before that. The use of organic compounds to prevent coffee leaf rust has peaked his interest. So, when rust struck the area around his farm, he quickly applied a natural mineral compound to his plants. This was able to stave off the worst of the issue, quickly returning to business. Jose Cecilio always keeps the final cupping profile of his coffee in mind and is extremely involved in every aspect of his farm. He says, “It is always a joy to know that my coffee, that I produce it with responsibility and with a lot of love thinking about the final consumer”.

This lot is a blend of varietals, and includes Icatu, Catuai, Lempira and Bourbon. Each of these varietals are known for producing a high cup quality and/or high harvest yields. Most of them adapt well to the climates of this region and farm. Finca El Plan itself sits at approximately 1,500 meters above sea level, which places it squarely in the ideal growing altitude for this lot’s varietals. Ample rainfall and a favorable microclimate round out the environmental factors that allow Finca El Plan to turn out high quality lots.

The metrics of this coffee aren’t particularly extreme, though this certainly doesn’t translate into a lacking cup. Instead, an average density and a good moisture content allow for a fairly straightforward roast profile design. Screen size balances between 17 and 18, with a few outliers. Overall, the bean appearance is consistent, with no visible defects.

Honey-processed coffees benefit from a long, slow sugar browning phase to unlock the sweeter notes that are usually present. so, we kept that in mind with a longer roast profile here on the IKAWA, and kept the starting temperature low to balance out the density of the bean. Though the bean size is reasonably large, it wasn’t big enough to have an overly long roast; the consistency in size helped us keep it short here.

Given the weather in New Jersey lately, cold brew was a no-brainer for this lot. We aimed for a 1:10 ratio with about 20 hours of steep time. A few hours in a nitrogen-infused keg rewarded us with a bright, but smooth cup. The coffee does well as a cold brew, with notes of orange, caramel, and milk chocolate.

On the warmer front, the V60 gave us a very sweet cup using the IKAWA roast above, with notes of red apple, butterscotch, and apricot. We went for a fairly fine grind on the EK43, and a slightly more concentrated brew ratio at 1:14. This is definitely a coffee we recommend for manual brewing, as its sweeter cupping notes really stand out here.

The coffee used in this analysis is reference number 38012 available in our New Jersey warehouse. Please keep in mind that this is a limited-availability micro lot and will not be available for an extended period.

This honey process coffee is a part of our larger Honduran micro lot program, and other lots are available. Contact your trader for more information!