Sergio Soriano, Finca El Soasal

When I was 18, I had an accident while playing soccer and needed knee surgery…

It meant the sad and abrupt end of my – admittedly amateur – soccer career, but it also opened the door to new beginnings: I was given an opportunity to become a waiter on a cruise ship that was based in Copenhagen. During four years, I lived on that ship and we traveled between many of the beautiful main cities of northern Europe. That’s how I got to know cities like Stockholm, Oslo, Amsterdam, Saint Petersburg and Helsinki.

After four splendid but hardworking years on that ship, I returned to Honduras to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a coffee farmer.

In fact, my dad cultivated coffee from a humble perspective. He owned only a tenth of a hectare and grew large, very high plants, more like trees. Little by little, I took over and expanded the plot to a total of 8,5 hectares.

Now, I’m 53 and mostly working alone. I have a son who lives in the US, and a daughter in a nearby town, but she works elsewhere. During the harvest, I have people helping me out. But coffee is my passion, it’s what makes my heart beat faster. The plants represent life to me. They allow us to breath, and, in a more direct sense, they are what puts bread on my table. I love walking between the neat rows to check if everything is going well.

There are four varieties that I grow: Pacas, Parainema, Obatá, IHCAFE 90. But in fact I am gradually changing to a Parainema only farm. That’s the cultivar that best resists leaf rust and I love the sweet, juicy and large berries that grow from it.

The next step is selling coffee directly to small roasters in Europe. I want to establish lasting relationship with one or two roasters and work hand in hand with them to offer consumers a traceable cup of coffee that came to fruition through our combined efforts.

Farm facts

The farm is 8,5 hectares and the land is located at 1,350 to 1,450 meters.

There is abundant shadow. Some of it from old pine trees, but also from papaya and bananas, plantains and lime that I planted. There are a few small cashew trees that I planted not long ago, and lots of native vegetation like liquidambar, pepitio, copalchio and guamo trees.

Although I grow Pacas, Obatá, and IHCAFE 90, the increasingly dominant cultivar is Parainema.

My coffees are SHG and are certified Fair Trade and Organic.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.