Finca el Cachimbon Natural ML

The story behind Finca el Cachimbon Natural ML

Finca el Cachimbon is in the Lempira area of Western Honduras. Owned by Porfilio Lopez, El Cachimbon has 17 hectares, 15 of which are cultivated. San Andreas is a small municipality within the state of Lempira, with a population of 15,000 people primarily involved in the cultivation of coffee.

The farm sits between 1,600 and 1,675 meters above sea level, with an average temperature of 71 degrees and grows lempira and Ihcafe 90. Both varieties were developed in Honduras with the aim of fighting diseases like rust and coffee berry borer, and are based originally on catimor, but were selected for their quality while still being very hardy.

Sr. Lopez, who goes by Lito, is a gregarious person, and when we visit, he brings his entire family with him on the tour.

Mr. Lopez processes his own coffee after picking only red ripe cherries, and pays particular attention to the washing, fermentation and drying of their coffees to create exceptional coffee. The coffees are floated for quality and then sun dried. At the height of harvest Lito hires up to 50 pickers to keep up with production. Because of his standing in the community, he can hire the same people each year, which aids in quality improvement.