Honduras Las Flores by Rene Fernandez, Eduin Fernandez, & Pedro Lopez
Tastes: Toasty, pear, blackberry
Varieties: Parainema, Pacas
Region: Las Flores, Santa Barbara
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1300-1600 m
Importer: change of tone
Las Flores is made up of coffees from three farms in the Las Flores area of Santa Barbara: Las Huellas (Rene Fernandez), La Pantera (Eduin Fernandez), and La Sabila (Pedro Lopez). Our head roaster, Nicolas Cramer, was able to visit these farms with Damian Durda of change of tone just a couple weeks ago!
Rene Fernandez, the hardworking son of an even harder-working father, Juan Evangelista Fernandez, is the second producer to perfect the protocols for optimal Parainema growth in Las Flores.
Rene’s family holds great significance—his grandfather was one of the very first settlers in the mountains of Santa Barbara, in what is now known as Las Flores. Family has been growing coffee since 1970's before any roads existed which would later link the community to neighbouring towns.
Rene received a plot from his father at the highest elevation of La Maravilla, or "The Wonder" farm, which he named "Las Huellas." He constructed a processing station at the top of the plot, along with a driveway to efficiently transport coffee from the top of the farm to the drying facility. In 2018, Damian Durda of change of tone had the opportunity to sponsor the construction of a second drying facility,
featuring an innovative rail system with a movable chair and trolley to streamline movement from the back to the front of the drying tent. The parabolic dryers were thoughtfully designed to ensure optimal airflow.
Eduin Fernandez inherited his farm from his father. His father was a producer of conventional coffees and Eduin worked with him on the farm all throughout his childhood.
However, due to economic struggles within the family, Eduin left the farm when he was nineteen to work in a clothing family in Choloma city. During this time, Eduin’s father was aware of the potential and quality of his coffee and had an opportunity to connect with coffee buyers and sell specialty coffee micro-lots from his farm through their partner Beneficio San Vicente. Six years later, Eduin returned to Las Flores and continued working with his father on the farm and in 2020 was given a one-hectare plot of land
for his own specialty coffee-focused farm.
Eduin grows Pacas and Catuai varieties. Eduin hasn’t had many difficulties, as his father, who has vast experience preparing micro-lots, was able to provide a lot of guidance. The coffee cherries are de-pulped every day after picking and the parchment is put into fermentation tanks where it is dry fermented for 26 hours. The parchment is then rinsed in the tank four times, put inside the parabolic solar dryer for around 25 days, and while in the dryer the parchment is sorted by hand to remove defective beans.
Pedro Lopez grows Pacas and Catuai. His farm was massively affected in 2021 by a hurricane which destroyed his plot. Pedro grows many vegetables which are supplied to smaller communities such as El Cedral and Los Andes. Hence, the coffee production remains his smaller business.
Pedro's son emigrated to the USA in 2020, looking for a better future, which resulted in lack of labour on Pedro's farm. He hires a few pickers per year, from the same group that harvests his vegetables.
About the Parainema Variety:
The Parainema variety was developed by the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) as part of a crossbreeding program within the Sarchimor variety. It originated from a breeding initiative at CATIE in Costa Rica, involving a T-5269 (Sarchimor), and was introduced to Honduras around 2010. The primary goal of the program was to enhance resistance to coffee leaf rust without compromising cup quality—a
goal that, for green coffee buyers, often resulted in what was humorously referred to as "Paca-weirdo."
This playful term arose during the early days of encountering Parainema on cupping tables at San Vicente, describing its distinct lime juice, herbal notes, and high acidity. In the early stages of its discovery in 2015, Parainema was frequently mistaken for Pacamara seeds until IHCAFE clarified what appeared to be a typographical mix-up.