Honduras
Santa Barbara
Exibia Sabillon Mejia
Los Abuelo
Parainema
Honey
November–April
Almond Butter, Riesling, Juicy, Lime
1350 meters
N/A
69 kg w/ GrainPro
APAC - Sydney - RPM
Exibia Sabillon comes from a coffee producing family, with the tradition stretching back to her grandfather whom she would one day name her farm after. Her father carried on the legacy first, establishing his farm in Las Flores, Santa Barbara where Exibia and her siblings would begin their journey learning about coffee production and processing. In the year 2000, Exibia inherited part of her father’s property, and with the help of her husband and children she renovated the land and replanted the area with Lempira variety trees.
Los Abuelo is located 1350 meters above sea level in the mountainous area of Santa Barbara, with slopes reaching grades of up to 30%. She and her family maintain healthy forest and shade trees on the farm, allowing Exibia to cultivate her coffee under full-shade conditions.
When Exibia began her career as a coffee grower she produced and sold commercial coffee. However, in 2018, seeing the success of other nearby producers and following their example, she replaced her Lempira coffee with Parainema variety across the farm. Parainema was specifically developed to combat nematodes which are present in the soil and can affect root systems of coffee plants, limiting the nutritional intake. At higher elevations this coffee has also proved to have outstanding yield and cup quality. The profile is quite different from other varieties and is distinguished by a silky body and fresh herbal notes. Her first harvest season with her new crop came in the year 2020, and, despite the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to that year, Exibia prepared her first specialty coffee microlots in 2021. Today, she feels heartened to continue producing specialty coffee and improving after the success she has already achieved.
This lot of Parainema coffee underwent Honey processing. Freshly harvested cherries are transported to the wet mill near Exibia’s house where they are put into plastic bags and fermented for 48 hours. The cherries are then pulped and the mucilage is left intact, and the pulped coffee is placed into a solar dryer. The coffee is dried for 18 days, during which the coffee is constantly hand sorted to remove defective beans.
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 features 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.
