We first met Tony when he reached out to us on Instagram. He was looking to establish direct trade relationships with a handful of roasters in the US and offered to send us a sample of his coffees. Tony runs Finca La Joya just outside the town of Güinope in El Paraiso, Honduras. Upon cupping the samples Tony sent to us we were blown away by the sweet, clean, and satisfying coffees, making the decision to bring them in an easy one.
Finca La Joya was born from a charitable mission trip in 2010 where Tony served as a Spanish translator for a group seeking to provide coffee plants to local families. Having successfully provided over 2,000 coffee saplings to 25 families, Tony and his new partners saw the impact the farming of coffee could have on a community and decided to plant their own farm. With the ultimate goal of providing for his community in mind, today Tony uses part of the proceeds of his farm to help fund a local orphanage for young women.
(Solar dryers and raised beds being constructed on Finca La Joya)
On the farm, Tony has instituted rigorous quality control standards. The farm sits at an elevation of roughly 1,600m and all coffees are hand-picked by highly trained farm staff. The washed processed coffee that we sourced consist largely of the catuai varietal. Upon being depulped, the coffee is dried in specially constructed “solar dryers” that look like large greenhouses. Inside each solar dryer the coffee is spread out evenly on a series of stacked raised beds that keep the coffee off of the floor and ensure ample airflow for even drying. Each and every drying batch is cupped to ensure consistency from bag to bag. The end result is a beautiful cup that has distinct apricot and chocolate notes, with a slight tamarind acidity enveloped in a creamy body perfect for the still cool spring mornings.
We are proud to offer Finca La Joya, and can’t wait to see what Tony does next!
Award Winning Specialty Coffee
