Miguel Angel Rivas, Farms La CCD - Los Nances - La Estillera

Although he only acquired his his first plot of land in 2014, Don Miguel knows his way around coffee.

Indeed, he has been working for other coffee producers for more than two decades. It just took him a long time and lots of hardship before he was able to procure his own plot.

He loves working on his land. The hardship, downpours during the rainy season, volatile prices for coffee, the fifteen hour workdays during the harvest. He likes all of it. Why? ‘Because I’m free, nobody can tell me what to do, when to do it, or how’, Don Miguel answers when asked that question, then looks at his coffee trees with quiet pride and determination.

Don Miguel is part of a large family. He has nine siblings and he and his wife raised five children. Three of the children are in the US. They sent him money to buy a bit more land and they also help out when the price for coffee is too low to keep things afloat. The two children who are still in Honduras help out on the land: weeding, cleaning, trimming plants, and of course picking beans during the harvest season. All of it under Don Miguel’s kind but firm leadership, as he has accumulated so much knowhow and experience over his more than two decades in the fields.

Despite the family’s efforts, they haven’t yet had the opportunity to dry and prepare their own micro-lots. In fact, they sell their coffee to Cafesmo in cherries and the Cafesmo team will then dry and process the lots for them. The next step is to buy their own solar dryer, separate the best beans for micro-lots, and start preparing their own micro-lots.

Don Miguel already knows how to do that. He works alongside Hidardo Hernández, the young founder of Cafesmo who prepares lots of micro-lots with different processes. Sometimes, Hidardo will buy some of Don Miguel’s beans and he then shows him how to dry them slowly and process them into a high quality batch. Don Miguel is determined to keep some of those best beans for himself as soon as he is able to build his own solar dryer.

He already has potential buyers as the micro-lots that are prepared at Cafesmo, are being bought by roasters who like his profiles, the flavor patterns; the consistencies of the batches. We, at Cafesmo, are certain that he will achieve his goals. His fincas are in great shape, his resolve is unshakeable, and he has already proven that his micro-lots are popular among high quality specialty roasters abroad.

Farm facts:

3 hectares at 1,338 altitude.

Varietals: Lempira, Parainema, IH-Café90, and Caturra

Lots of shadow from local trees varieties, also some from pine trees and indigenous avocado.

The land is certified organic, fair trade, RFA.