Horsham Coffee Roaster: Honduras, Capucas co-op, Washed

We selected this coffee from the most recent harvest as it it shows great balance with easy drinking notes of cocoa, cherry, dark chocolate and brown sugar sweetness. This makes it a great coffee if you prefer fairly low acidity or intend to use it with milk.

Cooperativa Cafetalera Capucas Limitada (Cocafcal) or Capucas as they arebetter known, is situated on and around the Celaque mountain, the highest peak in Honduras. Celaque means ‘box of water’ in the local language, and the mountain is the source for many rivers and streams. Capucas was founded in 1999 by Jose Omar Rodriguez and takes its name from the local town of Las Capucas. In 2004 Omar was chosen to become the general manager, a role he continues today.The coffee is harvested at its optimum ripeness and handed in at the cooperative washing station. It is then washed, dried in a solar dryer, and stored in parchment before being trucked to the port of Puerto Cortés. Capucas were the first in the country to build a facility to dry microlots in a large scale with solar dryers.

The cooperative has many initiatives to improve the lives of workers and the local community, for example; they pay for a GP to treat workers for free in their health centre which is in the centre of Las Capucas. In 2016 Capucas partnered with the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) to provide a university education, the virtual classroom was opened in the community of Capucas in a rural part of San Pedro Copan, UNAH provide the technical support, teachers and subject matter for the students. They also have a football academy which is free to join and a virtual library for members, children and partners of Capucas Cooperative.