06/28/2017
The Finca Las Cañas Story
Finca Las Canas Protected Nursery
Honduras borders three countries and has coasts on both the Pacific and the Carribean. Finca Las Cañas is about a 30 minute hike, or less on horse, from Concepcion, in the Olancho department of Honduras. The land is just under 4,000 feet in elevation and has been in the Maradiaga-Vazques family since 1992. Everything was lost in Hurricane Mitch in October of 1999. The very next month in November of 1999 they did the only thing they could. They started over. Carlos and Luis AKA El Tigre planted 40,000 coffee plants while diversifying with other fruits and vegetables including banana, pacaya, cucumber, corn, patastillo (a.k.a. Mexican squash), tomatoes, cilantro and even some medicinal plants. It is a beautiful place to pass the harvest. Although there are some areas in Honduras that have the potential to produce some exceptional specialty coffees they are VERY hard to find. There is little incentive to go the extra mile. “At Finca Las Cañas they do go the extra mile from the ground up”.
Finca Las Canas Protected Nursery
The shade of the natural canopy provides home to many birds. The tinsel long flowing tails color the landscape along with four types of toucans. Dogs warn of people approaching as only they can distinguish people from the parrots that mimic human voices from a distance. Some times there are flocks of up to 200 parrots that will flow through the lush vegetation. Their natural green colors camouflage well with the trees.
“Our process is very meticulous, giving the coffee the care it deserves. Our small size is of benefit allowing us to always wet mill our coffee the day it is picked. Because every step is done by hand, we are able to keep tight control to meet the demands of the most discriminating buyers. We pick only those cherries that are perfectly ripe.” - Carlos
