In the year 2000, 62 Honduran coffee farmers joined together with a common goal to transform their farms from conventional to organic production and formed COMSA (Cafe Organico Marcala, S.A). In 2001, fostered by a foundation called Funder, COMSA earned their organic certification from Bio Latina which has enabled them to market their coffee to more international buyers and realize better selling prices for their coffee. In February 2006, COMSA then applied for and was granted Fair Trade certification status. COMSA uses the Fair Trade price premium to fund many social projects including paying teachers’ salaries and purchasing school supplies. The premium also finances the construction of kitchens in the schools in support of the Merienda Escolar program that provides meals for school children.

It’s believed that coffee was first brought to Honduras by European traders sometime in the late 18th century. Records show that by the mid-19th century, farms had been established and coffee was grown on a small scale.

Honduras has many of the climatic and geographic conditions necessary to produce high quality coffee. However, because it lacked the infrastructure benefiting other coffee growing countries in the region, Honduras historically struggled to produce specialty coffee on par with its neighbors. For years, this meant the majority of the country’s coffee was relegated to commercial grade blending.

In recent years, Honduras has emerged as one of world’s the most important coffee origins and is now 7th largest in the world.

Coffee beans from this country are wet-processed before they are graded based on their quality. This grade takes into account the growing altitude:

Coffee beans grown at higher altitude are typically considered to have better taste and quality. Higher altitude temperatures are usually cooler and this allows for a slower maturation process. The slower cycle gives the sugars more time to develop, producing richer and deeper flavors.