HVC | Honduras Santa Barbara San Vicente
Classic Profile | Medium roast | Blue label
Tasting Notes: Brown Sugar, Toffee, Milk Chocolate
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
This coffee was grown by several small holder coffee farmers in the Santa Bárbara region of Honduras. They wet processed their coffee fruit, then delivered the seeds in parchment to the award-winning dry mill, Beneficio San Vicente.
Beneficio San Vicente is a family owned and operated dry mill and exporter located in the town of Peña Blanca in northwestern Honduras. Founded by Fidel Paz, San Vincente was the fulfillment of the dream of his father, Cantalicio Paz, to have a successful coffee farm. Along with his sons Benjamin and Fidel, as well as his nephew Arturo, Fidel has created the opportunity to connect their producing community around Peña Blanca directly to international buyers.
The coffee farmers de-pulp (separate the coffee fruit from the seed inside) the coffee themselves using their own milling equipment or small mills shared by families and/or micro communities, and then dry the coffee in its last protective natural layer, the parchment. When dry, the parchment coffee is brought to San Vicente to be tasted and separated based on quality.
Over the years, San Vicente has become a financing partner for new and existing growers, allowing producers to find buyers willing to pay fair and competitive prices instead of floor prices. They do consultation on agronomy with farmers, as well as advice for processing cherry to produce the highest quality possible. Because of this, the number of farmers separating and differentiating their coffees for sale into the specialty market is growing each year. To best support these producers, San Vicente doesn't buy their coffees as an intermediary, but rather connects these producers directly to buyers for more transparent price negotiations.
TRACEABILITY
COUNTRY
Honduras
REGION
Santa Bárbara
IMPORTER
Coffee Quest
PRODUCER
Several smallholder producers
MILL / WASHING STATION
Beneficio San Vicente
PROCESSING
Washed
ALTITUDE
1100 - 1400 meters
DID YOU KNOW
Farmers that contribute to this lot typically process washed coffees; the cherries are de-pulped, fermented in open tanks for approximately 16 hours, and then washed and dried either in traditional greenhouse structures for 1-2 weeks or in mechanical dryers.
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$3.23
Price paid by Driftaway
$2.23
Free on Board price
$1.81
Farm Gate price
$2.05
Fair Trade price per pound
$1.85
Coffee C-Market price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
This coffee travelled 3,430 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Queens.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
WHY DID WE SELECT THIS COFFEE?
We've roasted a regional blend from Santa Barbara, Honduras via the San Vicente mill for the 4 years. The coffee is so consistent that Ian can almost guess what it will be like before he even get to sample coffee from the latest harvest!
San Vicente’s coffee has become famous for its quality and consistency. This is attributed to the excellent volcanic soil, the ideal microclimate provided by the proximity of nearby Lake Yojoa, and the meticulous nature of the quality control experts at San Vicente.
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
84.75
/100
84.75
SCAA Cupping Score
15 x 70 kg
Bags purchased
1 year
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2022)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from August 13 to September 6 in Brooklyn. We use the Loring Kestrel roaster for this profile. We have strict guidelines for each of the coffee profiles, and this roast has to pass the development time ratio test as measured in real-time by the roasting software, Cropster. Once it does, it is approved for production.
QUALITY CONTROL
We perform Quality Control via a process of coffee tasting called cupping on all of our production roasts once a week at our roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each cupping is conducted by James M. and Ian T. using standard equipment, and is logged by our Q-certified cupper Ian T. All coffees are evaluated on a scoring scale of 0 to 3.
- 3.0 = exceptional roast - exceeds expectations
- 2.5 = on par with profile - matches expectations
- 2.0 = good roast, but 1 or 2 elements could be improved - needs improvement
- 1.5 or lower = failed - do not ship
PRODUCTION AND SHIPPING
Less than 24 hours after roasting, we bag your coffee in our production facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Our production team is led by Anthony and Torie, and supported by a rotating cast of local artists, musicians and independent professionals.
AT YOUR HOME
Brew this coffee with your favorite home brewer and enjoy the taste of incredible coffee! Here are a few tips on how to make the best coffee on each brewer.
View other posts about how to make better coffee at home on our blog Coffeecademy.
