Nelson Ramírez, Honduras

Nelson Ramírez’s farm—nicknamed “Chely” after his mother—is located in the mountains above Lake Yojoa.

These Catuaí variety coffees grow around 1550 meters above sea level, under heavy fog coming up from the lake below. These cooler temperatures, as well as other conditions unique to this micro-climate, contribute to slow the maturation process of the coffee, yielding a flavor that is unique in its complexity.

Over the years, Nelson has reinvested into his farm’s milling infrastructure – in addition to building one of the best drying systems we’ve seen the world over, this year he surprised us with a new set of tanks that he uses to ferment and fully wash his coffees. Combined with this is a new water treatment system that reduces Nelson’s dependency on the scarce water resources needed for processing coffee.