Honduras, Celia Portillo Anaerobic Washed

Farm: La Pacaya

Region: Selguapa, Comayagua

Processing: Anaerobic Washed

Varietals: Bourbon

Flavour Notes: Strawberry, Cacao, Floral, Juicy

Some words from our sourcing partner, Semilla Coffee:

Semilla has been purchasing coffee  from Celia since 2023, although we previously sourced coffee from her son, Disnel. Our connection to Disnel and Celia was facilitated by Jesus Galeas, Celia’s nephew, with whom we have collaborated at Semilla since 2019.

Jesus has played a key role in bringing recognition to many smallholders in the Montecillos mountain range, thanks to his expertise in post-harvest processing and agronomy. When his sister married Celia’s son, Milton, she requested Jesus’ help in improving the quality of the coffee produced on their farm. Jesus comes from a family of generational coffee growers and has also worked as a field technician for the Honduras Coffee Institute (IHCAFE), where he assisted smallholders in enhancing the quality and yield of their coffee.

Upon arriving in the area and assessing the potential quality based on the altitude and available coffee varieties, Jesus began working with Disnel, Celia, and other local growers. He focused on teaching them the fundamentals of fermenting and drying parchment to achieve higher quality scores.

Celia has a deep-rooted connection to coffee cultivation in this region. Her husband, Clementino Ramirez, is the brother of Antonio Ramirez, who is widely recognized as the first person to cultivate coffee for commercial sale in the area. In the 1980s, Antonio discovered Typica and Bourbon plants on the farm he moved to. Along with Clementino and their other brothers, he dedicated nearly 40 years to growing and selling coffee, either in cherry form or de-pulped. They would load the coffee onto mules and transport it to the nearby town of Comayagua, where they sold it for whatever price the local buyers offered. 

When Celia, now 60, learned about the opportunity to change from this traditional sales model, she was eager to embrace a new method of processing her coffee to parchment instead of de-pulping it and selling it to intermediaries, as she and her parents had always done. Often, older producers resist the extra work and challenges associated with changing their approach to coffee cultivation, and many struggle to implement new methods effectively. However, Celia’s coffees were among the best of all the lots we purchased this year, showcasing her passion and desire to innovate.