Honduras La Unica - Natural Process
-Finca La Unica, Copan, Honduras-
Building communities and relationships are two of the main things we love about working in the coffee industry. It’s crazy to think that one little fruit can cause such an impact.
Our relationship with Finca La Unica & Finca Terrerito began a few weeks ago when our roaster broke down on us. Everything is back up and running as of now, but we were without our own roasting machine for a little over a week. For that period of time we needed to find a place to roast. Everyone that we knew in the area was either roasting the days we needed to use their roaster or were unavailable.
A roasting friend of ours recommended Finca Terrerito in Canton, GA. Although a bit of a drive from Knoxville (about 3 hours), it was well worth the adventure. Finca Terrerito is a 5th generation specialty coffee farm and green coffee importer. Their warehouse, roastery, and retail space are in Georgia, but their farms are located in Copan, Honduras. They source from their own farms and neighboring farms. Terrerito allowed us to roast about 1000 pounds of coffee over two trips to their facility. Just in the couple days we spent there, we could see these people cared not just about making amazing coffee, but also the farmers & producers themselves.
-Female Owned-
While there, we cupped many different lots of coffees from their farms and chose to go with a naturally processed crop from Finca La Unica (the sister farm of Terrerito). This coffee is grown at 1400 meters above sea level under Mount Tenan. Formerly a fifty-acre cattle farm, Finca La Unica is now home to rare micro-lots. In a country where most farm ownership roles are reserved for men, Finca La Unica stands out. Finca La Unica is female owned. Leticia Lopez Hutchins purchased this farm back in 2016. Being an example for women in Honduras and places alike, Leticia is proud to be where she is and to have been put in this role. Since her ownership, La Unica has added sleeping quarters for 50 coffee pickers, bathrooms, and kitchens with clean water.
-Community in Need-
Recently, Hurricane Eta has blown through Honduras and neighboring countries leaving a path of destruction. Finca Terrerito has decided to do what they can to help provide relief from the damage of floods, mudslides, and road destruction in their region. Being the only ones with a bulldozer to clear roads, debris, and help others escape from entrapped homes, they have started a Go Fund Me. Any donations are welcome and encouraged. You can find out more about their plan for hurricane relief here https://www.gofundme.com/f/honduran-coffee-farmer-relief?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer
As we continue to purchase green coffee from farmers and importers, we strive to support their livelihoods and their families’ livelihoods in ways that are increasingly direct, transparent, and equitable.
Enjoy Honduras La Unica as a Single Origin Coffee and in our upcoming “Holiday Blend +”.