In Honduras near the town of Peña Blanca, overlooking the beautiful Lake Yojoa, Natividad Benitez grows both Pacas and Bourbon varieties on his farm El Ocotillo. In 2005, Natividad won the prestigious Honduras Cup of Excellence, a competition for the best coffee in Honduras. This win not only changed Natividad’s life, but also helped reshape how coffee is produced in the Santa Barbara region. For Natividad, the better price he received for his coffee allowed him to build a small de-pulper and tiled fermentation tanks. Both of these have helped improve the quality of his coffee over the years. Neighbouring coffee farmers were inspired by the higher price Natividad was getting for his coffee and went to him for advice. With the help of Beneficio San Vicente, the local coffee exporter and agronomy expert, a large number of farmers went from producing commodity grade coffee to producing excellent quality specialty coffee. Present day, Santa Barbara is now famous for the distinct, delicious coffee it grows.

Brew Method

1g of coffee to 16-17g water / Slurry temperature (coffee+water): 200 - 205 ̊F / 93 - 96 ̊C / Extraction: 20 - 21% / TDS 1.38-1.41%