Honduras coffee in Iowa

In January 2014, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas church in Ames, Iowa, came to visit the parish of Dulce Nombre de María, with two young men. One was very interested in trying to get something started with importing local coffee to the US.

We met with a few coffee producers. I proposed that this not be simply buying coffee but investing in a group of small coffee producers, importing their coffee but also making an investment to help them improve their production as well as the quality of the coffee.

In the aldea of El Zapote Santa Rosa, José Garcia got about fifteen producers together and they began to work forming an association, which they named “Café hacia el futuro” – Coffee toward the future. At first a group at St. Thomas Aquinas imported the coffee but later they formed into “Café El Zapote.” 

It’s been quite the journey – first finding ways to get small quantities sent as samples, then finding ways to export and transport coffee. There have been ups and downs – but the association has grown, has gotten help to improve their fields, as well as production processes.

They have even managed to build a “centro de acopio” – a place where the coffee will be collected and processed.

Marco Antonio pruning one plant

A few days ago, the head of Café El Zapote asked me to interview one of the producers whose high quality coffee had been purchased by a café in Tama, Iowa. They wanted some background for their customers as they market his coffee as "single source."

Here are some notes from time spent with the producer, Marco Antonio García; we were accompanied by Moisés García, the president of the association.

Marco Antonio and Moisés

Marco Antonio García Henríquez, Tonio, is 35 years old, married with three kids, one son who is 14 years old who helps and is also studying in the equivalent of junior high in an alternative program in El Zapote. There are two daughters, one who is ten years old and who accompanied us out to his fields. 

Marco Antonio's daughter finding some fruit to eat

Tonio was born in El Zapote Santa Rosa and has lived here all his life. His father also grows coffee and he worked with his father many years. He started helping in the coffee harvests when he was five years old – not uncommon here. He worked for years with his father but be began working on his own fields when he turned 18 years.

He has worked with the Asociación Hacia El Futuro for only two years. The association currently has 19 members (2 of whom are women). They are hoping to incorporate up to 7 more women, mostly spouses of the members) in the coming year. 

Tonio has three manzanas. (A manzana is about 1.7 acres.) The elevation of his fields is about 1350 meters.

When I asked him how he got such high-quality coffee, he said that he does all in the name of God and with passion and love, selecting the best coffee beans.

It is clear that he and his family live with a deep faith and with a passion for their work. He proudly showed me the flower garden at the side of his house which his wife and he tend to have flowers for the Catholic church in the village.

The association has worked with several organizations, including a Spanish foundation which worked through Caritas and Heifer International. With their help, as well as the help of El Zapote Coffee in Ames, they have been able to improve their farming, harvesting, and processing procedures. They also have been able to have solar coffee dryers. 

They are working toward a much more ecological approach to coffee production. The centro de acopio (collection and processing center) that the association is completing will have procedures to deal with the pulp from the coffee as well as the water used in washing and soaking the beans to avoid contamination of the water systems.

Centro de acopio of the association

Tonio does not use herbicides to deal with the weeds in the coffee fields (fincas, in Spanish). Instead, they clear out the weeds manually, with machetes.

However, one of the problems in the past few years, and one which has had a resurgence last year, is what is called roya, a type of leaf rot. They are working with developing natural fungicides for control of the roya.

Up to this point, Tonio has dried the coffee in the solar dryer by his home. He has stored the coffee in his house to avoid contamination by any odors.

Tonio and his son beside his small solar dryer

The harvests in this area are between November and April, because of the elevation. Producers will harvest several times during the harvest season, since the beans mature at different times. (There are several flowerings earlier in the year.) Tonio harvests up to six times in the harvest season. (Editors’ note: the first and last harvests do not usually bring in a good quality coffee, since they may have beans that are overripe or underripe.)

We went to see Tonio’s fields which are in two different locations.

He has been very careful to have a good number of trees in his fields – pine trees, guamos, fruit trees (including oranges and mandarins), avocado trees, bananas, and more. (I came home with a load of mandarins.) When he plants new coffee trees, he tries to avoid cutting down trees.

In at least one part of his fields, he has planted zacate (a type of tall grass) between the coffee rows – to cut down the erosion as well as to lower the temperature of the soil.

Tall grass between the rows of coffee

Tonio is not a man of many words and so when I asked if he had any message for those who will drink his coffee he was at a loss – just drink, enjoy, and buy more. As I left, he thanked all those who are helping him and the other coffee farmers in El Zapote.

Information on ordering Café El Zapote can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/cafeelzapote

UPDATE - October 10, 2021: 

 Here's an image from the Facebook page of Ross Street Roasting Co.