Claudio Castellanos LIMITED

Regular price

Fermier/ FarmerClaudio Elias Castellanos

Origin / Origine: El Cielito, Honduras

RegionSanta Barbara

Altitude: 1850m

Procédé / Process: Lavé/washed

Variété / Varietal: Catimor

Notes: carambole, canneberge, kiwi / starfruit, cranberry, kiwi


4rth year working with Claudio!

So happy we can continue to share his work with everyone! Last year we visited & saw him in his element. It was a truly unforgettable experience. We will be helping him build a mill, as well as help with production costs, affording him more autonomy professionally & financially.

There's soooooo much going on in this coffee! Every time we brew it we're met with the realization that Claudio is one of the best farmers in Honduras, despite how little coffee is available every year. He has a touch few have. Sweetness & complexity permeate this cup. It promises to wow you every time. What a coffee.


The Farmer - Claudio Castellanos, in his own words...

"Since I can remember I know about the coffee plantations because my father had two coffee farms and we normally were accompanying and worked with him.

Unfortunately, my father passed away when I had 9 years old, and my mother had to sell all properties for we had many economic problems. Also, we had to move to another region where we rent a house and work growing vegetables and bananas.

After 9 years we returned to this place and started to work as labourers on the farms of the region. After some years, with my savings I could buy a little farm of bourbon coffee; some neighbours were already preparing specialty coffees and they guided me to how to prepare the coffee to the specialty market, so, in 2014 in San Vicente mill helped me to prepare and sell my first micro-lot of coffee."

- Claudio

BONAVENTURE COFFEE PROJECT

This year marked a very special milestone for us. With the help & initiative of Kevin Bohlan (Saint Frank), Benjamin Paz (Beneficio San Vicente & who helped build the 1st Saint Frank location), & in a kind of serendipitous way, Jared Truby of Cat & Cloud who kind of connected the dots between us & Kevin. Kevin & Ben started Bonaventure Coffee Project amidst Covid-19 to create & restore “Good Fortune” (Meaning of “Bonaventure”) to as many small producers as possible. Most of whom had their commitments fall through due to the uncertain times & so many coffee companies having to scale back spending or pivot their offering.  
These farmers have already taken on increased risk for specialty buyers and at the time they should receive their payment for an entire year of work they find themselves with no buyer and no bailout. If they were to revert to selling their coffee to the conventional commodity market they would receive far less than their production cost requiring them to take on further debt due to their loss putting them at great risk of falling into a tragically common cycle of poverty.

Enter Claudio Castellanos. His father had coffee farms when he was young but, sadly he passed away when Claudio was just 9. They were forced to give everything up but years later when he was 18, he was able to buy a small parcel of Bourbon where his father grew coffee. A year later, through sheer resilience & tenacity, he sold his 1st micro-lot at 19 years old!
After chatting to Kevin & Harris about the project we committed to buying right away, before even tasting the coffee. The “WHY” was so great that, regardless what coffee was coming down the pipe, we were going to make it work. The pandemic, the storms that devastated Honduras, not to mention all the other struggles the country faces and has faced for decades, if not centuries, made it a no brainer & we couldn’t be happier signing on for a longterm relationship with such a stud of a guy in Claudio. We’re privileged for sure!

That said, let us tell you, the coffee this kid is growing is absolutely the best cup from Honduras we’ve had to date. Not only that but, this is a high elevation, cold climate Catimor, which is another surprising factoid! We were blown away at the simple yet complex finish this coffee presented.
Natividad Benitez who won 1st place in the 2005 COE and kicked off the brilliance of this entire region so this is a super special place, is the neighbouring farmer! You may have had his coffee before like the El Ocotillo from 49th that won Charles babinski used to win the USBC & 2nd at WBC. Claudios father definitely knew where to set up shop ; )

We’re so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this amazing project & can’t say it enough. 
We hope you enjoy this coffee over & over again so we can buy even more from Claudio next season!