Vanessa Hernández, Finca El Roblar
I am the third generation of coffee farmers, although I now have an office job, I still work on the farm when I can.
My father passed away in 2019, so now my mother and I have a much greater responsibility on the farm than before. We have a small grocery store where my mother sells basic supplies like water, toilet paper, and rice, but she often closes the store for a few hours to work on the farm. Sometimes we also hire help when it's too much for the two of us, especially during the harvest.
As a child, I always spent weekends on the farm during harvest season, mainly because there was nothing I loved more than picking those bright red greens as quickly as I could. My mother always laughed when she noticed my zeal and enthusiasm, but when I was little, I did the same thing.
Vanessa and her mother, Irma, have gone through a difficult period after the death of her father and husband. But they were resilient and never gave up. Now, they see a brighter future again, thanks to their hard work and their high-quality beans.
Her parents were the first in our family to start growing coffee plants. Back then, they had to water each plant separately because there was no shade. Now, we have many trees that provide shade, such as the chilindrón, the cuajiniquil, the sweetgum, and oaks—trees native to our region, for which there aren't really any English names.
In October 2019, I participated in a CAFESMO workshop to learn how to prepare coffee for microlots. Now that my father can no longer pass on his knowledge, I am looking for other ways to deepen my understanding and experience.
I will participate in other workshops, as my mother and I are committed to continuously improving the quality of our beans and offering micro-batches prepared using different processes. We are particularly interested in establishing long-term relationships with ambitious small roasters from around the world.
When we work together over a longer period of time, we can slowly refine our batches according to your preferences and, together, prepare coffees that perfectly suit the palate of the end consumers.
Property details
Our farm has about 7 hectares, divided into three smaller lots close to each other, all located around 1,300 meters .
We grow Lempira , Paca , Parainema , IHCAFE 90 .
We have plenty of shade from native trees such as the chilindrón, cuajiniquil, liquidambar, and oaks.
We also have orange trees which, in addition to providing shade, infuse the surrounding coffee plants with a citrus flavor.
Our farm is certified by the FTO and Rain Forest Alliance
