Farm info

Gabriel Leiva produces coffee on Finca El Roble in Los Andes, Santa Barabra. Gabriel lives and farms on the slopes of the cloud-covered Santa Barbara mountain, which rises above La Yojoa Lake to 2600 meters at its peak. The forested land surrounding farms is part of a national park. This lot is fully washed and dried on raised solar dryer beds.

This lot was prepped for export at Exportadora San Vicente, a family business founded more than forty years ago and that today works with over 200 producers to produce microlots, many of which have won titles in the Honduras Cup of Excellence. San Vicente is based out of Peña Blanca at the shore of La Yojoa.

Region

Santa Barbara

The Honduran Department of Santa Barbara is one of the country’s 18 departments. It stretches from the border with Guatemala into the central mountain highlands. The Reserva de Vida Silvestre Montaña Verde wild animal preserve and the Santa Barbara Mountain are two of the main natural feaures of the department.

To the east of the Santa Barbara mountain, covered in primary rainforest filled with rich biodiversity, the shores of Lake Yojoa form part of the department’s borders. This region of Honduras is rich with smallholder agricultural production and far removed from the sprawling cities of San Pedro Sula to the north and the capital Tegucigalpa to the southeast.

The verdant mountains of Santa Barabara are part of three of Honduras’ coffee growing regions: Copan, Opalaca, and Montecillos. Temperatures range from 12-22 degrees Celsius throughout the year and shade trees over coffee include fruit trees, such as guava, and forest hardwoods, such as pine.