What are the characteristics of Honduran coffee and how to grade it

Central America is a narrow strip of land connecting North and South America, but the state is small in area and is divided into eight countries. In this area, the topography is mainly plateaus and mountains, with basins and valleys, and is run through by the Cordillera Mountains, forming the circum-Pacific volcanic belt, so there are many volcanoes here. With its mountainous forests, hot and humid climate, and fertile soil brought by volcanic ash, it is very suitable for growing crops such as coffee.

Seven of the eight countries produce coffee and are famous for producing coffee, such as Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras. Honduras is the largest coffee producer in Central America and the fifth largest coffee producer in the world. and high production while maintaining a high level of coffee.

Coffee was introduced to Honduras by Spanish businessmen as early as the 18th century, but at that time Honduran farmers mainly planted bananas and other crops, so only a small number of people grew coffee. By the end of the 19th century, the coffee industry in Honduras had gone through its beginnings and established many coffee plantations, but all of them were relatively small.

In fact, the geographical conditions of Honduras are not inferior to those of its neighbors Guatemala and Nicaragua, but because of its weak industrial base and lack of support in transportation and port traffic at that time, the export of coffee in Honduras was hindered and most of the coffee could only be sold domestically.

The situation did not improve until the mid-20th century, when roads and ports were built to make exports easier, and the Instituto Hondure ñ o del Cafe (IHCAFE) was set up to help improve the quality of local coffee. However, in 1988, the country ushered in a powerful hurricane Mitch, which caused serious damage. After the hurricane, the coffee industry was hit again by the outbreak of coffee leaf rust. Later, through various efforts, the coffee industry slowly recovered and became an important pillar of the country's economy.

Honduras is a mountainous country, more than 75% of the territory is mountainous, the interior is a lava plateau, and the Central American mountains pass through the central part from west to east, forming many basins and river valleys, with forests accounting for about half of the country's area, with an average elevation of 90-1500 meters above sea level. The country has a tropical climate, with an annual average temperature of about 23 ℃, mild temperature and abundant rainfall, coupled with high-altitude mountains and volcanic soil, excellent conditions for growing coffee.

Honduras is divided into six coffee producing areas, namely Copan, Opalaca, Montecilos, Conayagua, Agalta Tropical and El paraiso, all of which are more than 1100 meters above sea level.

At present, the most well-known is the Opalaca, which has often appeared on the country's COE list in recent years. The Oblaka district is located between Santa B á rbara in Santa Barbara province, Intibuc á in Intibuka province and Lempira in Lompila province. The region has the highest volcanic peak in the country, Mount Cerro Las Minas, which is fertile and planted between 1100 and 1700 meters above sea level, and the inland lake Lego de Yojoa provides rich water resources, coupled with the right climate, the coffee produced here has delicate acidity, tropical fruit flavors such as citrus, grape and mulberry, and an overall balance. Mainly grow bourbon Bourbon, Kaduai Catuai, Lompilla Lempira, iron card Typica, in recent years also began to grow Rosa Geisha.

Honduras, like most Central American producing areas, is the main standard classified by crop grades at altitude, because the higher the altitude, the greater the temperature difference between day and night, the longer it takes for fresh coffee fruits to ripen, the more sugars accumulate, and the richer flavor is. Density and hardness are better. It is generally divided into SHG (coffee beans produced above 1200 meters above sea level) and HB (coffee beans produced at an altitude of 1200-1200 meters above sea level).

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