The Honduras Coffee Company began in 1997 with the vision of bringing the finest coffees from Honduras to the USA and the world. Four individuals, Armando & Amy Contreras, husband and wife, and Amy’s parents, Dale & Melanie Firebaugh, created a team with a commitment not only to marketing quality coffees, but also a commitment to the people and the environment of Honduras. Today, in the 21st century, Honduras Coffee Company and our Honduran counterpart, Honducafe Especial, are growers, exporters, importers and roasters of the world’s finest specialty coffee from the Comayagua Mountain Region of Honduras. Armando Contreras, a native of Honduras, is the fourth generation in his family to farm coffee. He was raised in the small coffee town of San Antonio de La Cuesta at the base of the Comayagua Mountains. This is where Armando learned every aspect of farming coffee from his father and many other family members and friends. Armando remembers a time as a young boy when he had to load heavy sacks of coffee on the back of the burro to be brought down from the family farm and sold in La Cuesta. Armando’s grandfather, Anastacio, is in his late eighties and has just recently retired from working and tending to his coffee farm near the "Rio Blanco". While he still takes time to plant and grow corn, his favorite pastime now is relaxing in his hammock. Amy Contreras adds her expertise with a degree in Biology and Natural Resource Management. She is currently working on a masters degree in Agriculture. It is with this knowledge that we bring you the best coffee the world and Honduras have to offer.   After almost two hours of driving from San Antonio de La Cuesta on twisting turning rustic mountains roads, through streams and small quaint villages, around hairpin turns, across narrow bridges, through deciduous and thickly fragrant evergreen forests, you will arrive at our coffee farm, La Mora. It rests high in the Comayagua Mountains at an elevation of approximately 1500 meters above sea level. Here our coffee is sustainably grown under a diverse canopy of shade trees without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. When the coffee is ripe, it is harvested by hand, peeled and sun dried. The peelings are composted and used to fertilize the coffee plants. When the drying process is completed, the parchment peeling is removed and the coffee is machine and hand sorted to remove imperfections and create a final product of excellent quality. We also purchase select coffees from neighboring family and friends. Whether we grow our own or purchase coffee, it must meet our criteria for quality to qualify for our El Tucan Estate Coffee. The coffees must be: Grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Estate Grown: Estate grown coffee comes from one farm and is never mixed with coffees from other farms. This is excellent for maintaining consistent coffee flavor. Shade Grown: Care is taken to preserve as many trees as possible and to plant new trees where possible for the care of the environment, wildlife and for food supply. Sustainably Grown: Sustainability, for us, has three parts. Those are ecological, social concerns and economic development. Ecologically speaking, coffee is a perfect crop in that it is a shade-loving shrub that lives in the lower strata of the forest ecosystem. It coexists with a variety of species that contribute to the bio-diversity of the farms such as tree ferns, a whole host of tropical flowers, migratory birds, small animals and large tree species. The farms supply food items such as oranges and other citrus, bananas and plantains, avocados and many others. The farms also supply natural items for making life a little easier in the mountains of Honduras with basket making materials, firewood, fresh water and other household items. Our social concerns include economics. The workers we employ are provided with a house to live in, a living wage, bonuses, food, transportation and land to grow other food items. We also purchase select coffees at a higher price from our neighbors, friends and family which encourages them to continue producing a quality product with sustainability in mind. Strictly High Grown: The higher the better. Coffees grown at 1100 meters above sea level and higher are considered strictly high grown. Although we grow, purchase and sell coffee from many different elevations, our El Tucan Estate Coffee is always grown at the elevation of 1500 meters and above. Sun Dried: Many coffees are dried in large machine dryers. We believe this is harmful to the coffee and that sun drying is far superior and better for the environment. Fresh Roasted: Our coffee is not roasted and put into storage. As orders come in, the coffee is roasted and shipped immediately. Many coffees are sold to exporters. The exporters mix the coffees and sell them to a coffee brokers. The coffee brokers sell to coffee roasters. Finally, the coffee ends up in coffee shops and stores. Quality control suffers in this process. With Honduras Coffee Company, the coffee is farmer direct. Quality is maintained through the entire process. In addition to all of this, it just tastes great. Honduras Coffee Company is dedicated to providing the best darn coffee this side of the equator. Enjoy! Home | Our Story | Coffee Shop | Wholesale Information | Coffee Links 1-877-HONDURAS (877-466-3872) [email protected] Copyright Honduras Coffee Company ©1999-2002. All Rights Reserved.