Francisco Javier Pineda Espinoza, Farm Las Mesetas

Formally, I’ve only been working as a coffee grower since 2019, but, truth be said, I was basically born between my parent’s coffee plants, just like my own parents grew up in my grandparent’s coffee farm.

Indeed, most members of our wider family are deeply immersed in coffee and each of us focuses on their own, unique talents and skills.  It is through these unique skillsets that we express our love of coffee in our family.

For instance, my uncle, Nery Espinoza, is a beacon of light on my horizon, and I aspire to be as well-versed as he is one day. My uncle Nery  is more knowledgeable than anyone I know when it comes to plant life, diseases, nutrients and soil conversation, shade, and so much more. I secretly suspect that he talks to his plants when he is alone with them, although he vehemently denies this whenever I dare ask.

Or take my cousin, Lisbeth, who is about my own age. While Lisbeth is a farmer as well, she spends much of her day strengthening our family’s brand on social media and selling our coffees to local partners in Honduras. Through her work, she is able to present our family and our different coffees to the world.

And I? Well, I have my own focus and predilections. I love roasting and I also love experimenting with funky profiles and fermentation processes, as well as sharing my knowledge with others. But, above all, I’m the one in our family who is in charge of quality control. My family paid a Q-grader course for me and although I do not have the international license, which at $ 2,000 is beyond our means, I did graduate as a licensed Q-grader from our national coffee institute. 

My uncle Nery also own a coffee roastery, where I am in charge of quality control and roasting. We roast coffees for our national partners. Several gas stations, coffee shops, and also end consumers. 

All of this doesn’t mean that we’re wealthy, at least not in the ‘western’ sense of the word. For instance, I went to a bilingual primary school but had to receive my secondary education in the public system because the price for coffee had plummeted and my parents could no longer afford tuition. And recently we had to sell part of our land to pay for medical bills for one of our family members.

Still, I consider myself fortunate because thanks to the hardship that the previous generation of our family has persevered through, my own generation is able to create more and better opportunities. A decade ago, our family would have never dreamed that my uncle would own a roastery, or dreamed of working with roasters in faraway countries, like Chile, Belgium, and parts of Asia. 

These new opportunities that we are creating will hopefully also help to further improve the reputation of Honduran coffees. So many incredible farmers in our country prepare exquisite coffees. Profiles that some of the most famous roasters in the world are buying. One of my goals is to become an ambassador of Honduran coffees. Our own family’s lots, of course, but also coffee from Honduran origin in general.

If you want to find out more about me and our coffees, you can find me HERE (@doncanacoffee)

Farm Facts

The farm is located at 1,350 meters altitude and measures 3,2 hectares.

The main varietals are Parainema and Catimor

Shade is provided by local trees that grow in the area naturally.

The farm is organic, fair trade, and RA certified.