Yina Yamileth Reyes Gomez is one of the producers we have also included in the Intibuca Collective. However this lot stood out too much for us to incorporate it into other coffees, we decided to present it as a stand alone coffee.
Yina’s farm is named after a tree commonly seen in Honduras, liquidambo or liquid amber is the equivalent to the sweet gum. There are 15 different species and they characteristically have beautiful bright red, orange and yellow leaves.
Her farm is at 1750 masl and she is growing Catuai, we found her coffee to be bright and juicy, with complex, long lingering aftertaste.

Origin: Liquidambar by Yina Yamileth Reyes Gomez (Intibuca)
Liquidambar

Yina Yamileth Reyes has been growing coffee since 2012, which is the year she inherited two hectares of farmland from her family. She is from Pozo Negro, in the Masaguara municipality of Intibuca.

Her farm is called Liquidambar and is located at 1750 masl. Some of her neighbours began investing in specialty coffee with success, and they inspired Yamileth and shared their learnings. With their technical guidance, and the assistance of Cafe Raga, our partner in the region, Yamileth trialled a specialty process with one lot, with great results. Knowing that there were guaranteed buyers for her high quality coffee, she invested in producing more. The premiums she earns for these coffees have significantly improved her quality of life, and she is inspired by the connection to coffee buyers internationally.

“I try to make sure only the red ripe coffee is picked and follow a good milling process as well as to monitor the quality of the samples from each lot,” Yamileth said. “I feel motivated to be better in business, more focused on high quality coffee production, and implement the best methods in the process.”

Intibuca project:
The coffees from Honduras can be so amazing when they are from the right places and are processed well. They often have more complexity, depth and richness than other Central American coffees. Many specialty coffee buyers in Honduras are focused in and around the department (state) of Santa Barbara. We were hoping to expand our offering from Honduras, and decided to look at other regions to see what potential we could find. Intibuca stood out as a department with delicious coffees, and enormous potential to produce more if producers could find a market.

We have recently partnered with a group of 60 producers in the community of Pozo Negro, located in the municipality of Masaguara in Intibuca. These producers have organised themselves into a group who come together to learn and share knowledge. They elect a chairman every year who, for several years running, has been Wilmer Alexis Grau Montoya. As Joanne met with this group and heard from the producers themselves, their shared respect for Wilmer was clear. They hold regular meetings, to organize themselves and their production and to support each other in improving the quality of their coffee.

This group of producers is making an enormous effort, and reinvesting in their infrastructure on their wet mills, drying facilities and back into their production. This is an exciting development, as it allows for greater traceability and separation of high quality micro-lots, and is by no means ordinary for Honduran coffee producers. Our aim in working with this group is to find them a stable market for these coffees, and to assist them to further develop quality, and increase the amount they earn for their coffee over time.