During the madness of 2020, a long standing relationship was upset due to traveling restrictions and overall quality delivery. We fought to keep that relationship alive, but after months and months it was looking like we weren’t going to be able to source it this year. Our friends at Ally Coffee Importers worked to find an equally delicious producer that met our earth friendly parameters and we’re excited to introduce this beautiful coffee from Honduras that we hope to continue working with for years to come. 

The COMICOVEL cooperative—Cooperativa Mixta Cosecha Verde Limitada—in San Juan Intibucá is composed of smallholder producers who farm coffee with a focus on overall environmental sustainability. The co-op is the product of Catholic Relief Services’ Blue Harvest Project, which improves agroforestry management on farms throughout Central America and is headed by Geovanny Martinez and with Carlos Guevara acting as a consultant. To date, Blue Harvest has helped 1400 producers transform their farms into ecosystems that protect the forest and its freshwater sources.

COMICOVEL came into being specifically to bring together the Blue Harvest Project farmers who invested time and energy into improving their farms. The co-op was formed in 2016 and exported its first coffee in 2018. COMICOVEL exports with several certifications, including organic, which will earn producers premiums to continue farming without chemicals and ecosystem preservation that protects freshwater sources.

Located in the Opalaca mountain range of Honduras, COMICOVEL produces a disease resistant variety called Lempira. Grown at about 1,500 meters above sea level before being processed using the washed method.