Oscar Alexy Rivera Mancía, Fincas Tontolar and Las Lomas

My uncle, Benjamin Rivera, sold a small Specialty micro-lot to a roaster in Germany through Cafesmo in July 2020.

It was a first for our family. Although, in fact, I had given a honey processed micro-lot that was cupped at SCA 87 at our regional Cup of Excellence competition, but I never received any premium for that.

Now that we have joined Cafesmo, we are hopeful that we can propose our coffees in a more direct way to a larger pool of roasters. I’m certain that my family and I are capable of preparing excellent micro-lots. Together, we can offer quite a few varietals, from fincas located at various altitudes. All in all, we’re a group of about 15 producers in our area, which is called El Pinal, and which is incredibly well located.

It’s very remote and precious, far from any pollution, traffic, towns, or industry. Even from Cafesmo (which itself is deep in the mountains) it is still a one hour drive in the dry season, while in the rainy season we are sometimes cut off from the wider world for days at a time.

The lowest fincas start at 1,500 meter and the highest end at 2,000. My own finca is located at 1,850 meter, which is very high for Honduran standards. The coffee ripens slowly, and I start my harvest 2 months later than farmers who grow at 900 meters. When I have harvested my beans, I have to carry them on my back for twenty minutes, before I reach a small dirt road where I can drop them in the back our car. Sometimes, when I can afford it, I rent a mule for a few hours. But that’s only possible when I’ve sold the first coffees for a better than expected price.

Farm facts

1,5 hectares at 1,850 meters

Mostly IH-café 90 and Lempira varietals. Some Pacas.

Shadow is abundant from local trees like roble, pepeto, guamo as well.

My finca is FTO certified.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.