Honduras
El Diamante

Washed process Catuai, Caturra

Flavour: concord grape, lime, wild berries, creamy

Body:

Francisco Alvarado aquired the farm El Diamante eight years ago, and has since dedicated himself and his family to improving production techniques and the quality of their coffee harvest.

The family work hard to ensure the cherry is picked only when ripe (you can spot some unripe cherries on the photo on this page). This increases quality but greatly adds to the time and effort involved in the harvest.

In Honduras, 92% of coffee comes from small producers who traditionally pick and de-pulp their own coffee and then sell wet parchment to ‘Coyotes’, who buy directly from the farm for cash. This coffee then goes to large-scale mills and is blended with others to be exported as commercial grade bulk lots.

This traditional approach is the fastest way for a producer to receive payment, which is vital as most producers have small crops and use their coffee harvest as a key source of income. But this involves a trade-off in both quality and traceability: two of the things most important in receiving higher prices paid for speciality-grade coffee.

A new approach

Francisco and other small producers are part of a new movement of farmers who process and dry their own coffee. They invest more in maintenance of their washing tanks and equipment, and build their own raised beds.

These farmers aim to increase the quality of coffee in Honduras, and with that also raise the amount of ‘Specialty Grade’ coffee exported from Honduras from the 1% it is today.

We’re excited to support this new era of coffee production in Honduras, and to bring you harvests from these small farmers and their families.

Something familiar?

As part of that support for the new wave of specialty coffee in Honduras, this is the second year we’ve featured Francisco’s harvest from El Diamante for Brew Crew: we featured the previous harvest in July 2015.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Francisco Alvarado
Country: Honduras
Region: Poso Negro, Masaguaro
Altitude: 1600 – 1650m above sea level
Varieties: Catuai, Caturra
Process: washed
Harvested: December 2015
Importer: Silo
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium-low
Tasting notes: Concord grape, lime, wild berries, creamy
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varieties

Catuai variety

Created by the Instituto Agronomico do Campinas in Brasil, Catuai is a hybrid varietal between Caturra and Mundo Novo.

Caturra variety

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon that was originally discovered in Brazil in 1937, considered to be the first naturally occurring mutation ever discovered.

The location

Coffee from Honduras

The largest producer of coffee in Central America and one of our favourite coffee producing nations, capable of producing fruit driven coffees with a great, vibrant acidity.

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.