Coffee in Honduras

Honduras is Central America’s coffee powerhouse. It exports more coffee than any of its neighbours, about 5 million bags a year, all arabica, grown in the mountains of 15 of its 18 departments, mostly on small family farms. The Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) divides it into six regions, each with its own climate and flavour, and the Montecillos region is home to Café Marcala, Central America’s first denomination of origin. Here’s how much, where, when, and what it tastes like.

The short version

• Central America’s biggest exporter, and eighth in the world.
• About 5.5–6 million bags a year, all arabica.
• Six regions, from Copán in the west to Agalta in the east.
• Mostly small farms: about 9 in 10 producers are smallholders.
• Harvest from November to April.
• Rust is the constant risk.

How much coffee does Honduras grow?

USDA’s figures for Honduras’s coffee year, October to September, in 60 kg bags:

Coffee year	Production	Exports	Area harvested
2024/25	5.20 million	4.96 million	300,000 ha
2025/26 (estimate)	5.53 million	5.03 million	310,000 ha
2026/27 (forecast)	6.03 million	5.50 million	330,000 ha

Source: USDA, April 2026.

USDA credits the rise to better plant nutrition, the biennial cycle, new planting, better pruning and young farms coming into production, including about 10,000 hectares of the new rust-resistant variety Parainema. Honduras’s own count is lower: IHCAFE’s harvest report put 2024–25 at 6,187,455 quintales of 46 kg, about 4.74 million 60 kg bags, against USDA’s 5.20 million.

Who grows Honduran coffee?

Small farmers, mostly. The figures depend on the count:

Count	Value	Source
Producers registered with IHCAFE, 2024/25	93,628: 86,895 small, 6,359 medium, 374 large	IHCAFE, via USDA
Producers, 2024–25 harvest report	92,003, 92% small	IHCAFE, via La Prensa
Coffee families	More than 100,000	IHCAFE
Registered farms	120,000, 92% under 3.5 ha	Café de Honduras and IHCAFE, via Bioversity and CIAT

Small farmers produced about 2.6 million of the 4.8 million bags registered with IHCAFE in 2024/25, on 179,271 hectares. IHCAFE says coffee supports more than a million jobs and about 38% of agricultural GDP; a Bioversity and CIAT brochure puts it at 5% of GDP and 30% of agricultural GDP.

Where is coffee grown in Honduras?

In the mountains. Coffee grows in 210 of the country’s 298 municipalities, and 61% of farms lie between about 1,200 and 1,600 metres, USDA says. IHCAFE’s six regions, with the profiles it publishes:

Region	Altitude	Harvest	Cup
Copán	1,000–1,700 m	November–March	Sweet aroma, chocolate, round, balanced body, lasting aftertaste
Opalaca	1,100–1,700 m	November–February	Aromatic, with fine, delicate acidity, a soft body and a sweet aftertaste
Montecillos	1,200–1,600 m	December–April	Fruity; lively, bright acidity; velvety body; orange and peach
Comayagua	1,100–1,700 m	December–March	Sweet, citrus fragrance; lively acidity; creamy body
Agalta	1,100–1,700 m	December–March	Caramel fragrance, tropical fruit, sweet aftertaste
El Paraíso	1,100–1,700 m	December–March	Sweet fragrance, soft acidity and body, citrus, persistent aftertaste

Source: IHCAFE’s regional profiles, as published by El Heraldo, December 2023.

By department, Comayagua, Copán and Lempira grew the most in 2024–25, together 46% of the crop, and the western region of Copán, Lempira and Ocotepeque grew 42.9%, according to IHCAFE’s harvest report.

When is coffee harvested in Honduras?

From about November to April. The western regions, Copán and Opalaca, start in November; the higher, colder Montecillos runs latest, from December to April; and Comayagua, Agalta and El Paraíso pick from December to March, according to IHCAFE’s profiles.

Coffee leaf rust

Rust is Honduras’s biggest farm risk. By March 2026, national incidence had risen from 7.57% to 8.44%, a yellow alert, USDA reports, helped by the weather and by harvest workers moving between farms:

Department	Rust incidence, March 2026
Comayagua	14.08%
Cortés	12.49%
Santa Bárbara	11.17%
Yoro	10.08%
El Paraíso	9.81%
Copán	6.76%

Honduras set up an early warning system for coffee pests in 2012, and IHCAFE runs six research and training centres. Because of climate change, IHCAFE now recommends planting above 900 metres and no higher than 1,600 metres.

Where does Honduran coffee go?

Mostly to the United States and Germany. In 2025, the US bought 1.48 million bags of Honduran green coffee and Germany 983,000, followed by Belgium, Italy and Canada, according to USDA’s trade figures. By April 2026, exports for the 2025/26 year were up 38%, worth US$1.39 billion, at an average of US$439.47 a bag. Honduras even imports a little coffee, mostly from Nicaragua, for instant coffee and cheaper blends.

Which Honduran coffees are protected?

Two names:

Name	Status	Source
Café Marcala	Denomination of origin, granted 18 November 2005: the first in Honduras and Central America	García & Bodán
Cafés del Occidente Hondureño (Honduras Western Coffees)	Protected geographical indication in the UK since 31 December 2020, under the UK–Central America agreement	UK Government

A short history

Coffee started small. At the end of the 19th century Honduras had many coffee farms, but they were small and, lacking roads and ports, sold mostly at home, Wikipedia says. It caught up later: in 2011 Honduras became Central America’s top producer.

How do Hondurans drink their coffee?

More and more of it. Hondurans drink about 4–5 kg per person a year, according to the International Coffee Organization, quoted by USDA, and young drinkers are driving coffee bars in malls, petrol stations and offices, and even coffee pods.

Honduran coffee and other origins

• Coffee in Colombia: the other great washed arabica of the Americas.
• Coffee in Brazil: the giant whose harvests move Honduras’s prices.
• The atlas: Honduras’s growing area on the map.