Miguel Moreno
Farm Name: El Filo
Micro Region: El Cedral
Region: Santa Barbara
Farm Size: 3.5 hectares
Variety: Pacas
Altitude: 1550 m.a.s.l.
Processing: Washed
Daniel Moreno – patriarch of the Moreno family – wanted to give up coffee farming 10 years ago, when coffee prices were abysmally low. At this point, the sons had all moved to the US to work and earn a better living, and Miguel in particular, moved in order to earn enough to pay off mounting and substantial debts. In 2005, however, Miguel returned to Honduras and his neighbor, Mr. Benitez, won the 2nd Honduras Cup of Excellence competition. He didn’t make it to the awards ceremony, so Miguel accepted in his stead.
This experience ended up being a turning point for the family and Daniel split up El Filo into five lots (keeping one for himself and calling it “El Campo”). Currently, El Filo is split into eight lots, with Miguel’s son Dolmin most recently receiving his own plot to manage. The brothers began submitting their coffees to CoE and in 2007, Miguel’s lot won 4th place at the competition, with 90.6 points. This same year, he began to pick more selectively, pulp and dry his own coffee. In each subsequent year until 2010, his coffees placed well at competition. In 2010, motivated by the successes of his coffees and his neighbours’ successes (more than half of CoE winners were now coming from the Santa Barbara region), Miguel and his brothers began looking for a buyer for all the coffee produced at El Filo. Due to his hard work, dedication, innovation and investments, we decided to enter into a long-term partnership with the entire Moreno family and in 2011, we received the first of these shipments.
The brothers have bought more land at a higher altitude and decided to plant more unique varieties there. Because production will substantially increase in the coming years, they have already invested in good quality equipment, which will be able to handle these increased volumes.
Although the Moreno brothers work closely together, each brother’s and their father’s lots are processed separately, which is why we label each lot distinctly. Following from unique and individualized practices, each lot cups distinctly and differently.
We are proud and excited about the progress of these relationships and looking forward to even better quality coffee in the years ahead.
