Copán (western Honduras)

Copán is the coffee region of western Honduras, in the mountains of the west. It grows arabica at about 1,000–1,700 metres, harvests from November, earlier than most of the country, and is known for chocolate and a round, balanced body. With its neighbours, it makes the west Honduras’s most important coffee-exporting area.

The short version

• Western Honduras, at about 1,000–1,700 m.
• Chocolate, a sweet aroma and a round, balanced body.
• Harvest from November to March.
• Copán department: about 15% of the national crop in 2024–25.
• Santa Rosa de Copán, called the capital of western coffee.

What does Copán coffee taste like?

Sweet and chocolatey. The Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) describes the region’s cup as having a sweet aroma, chocolate flavour, a round, balanced body and a lasting aftertaste.

Where is it grown?

In the west. The sources draw the region slightly differently:

Area	Source
Copán, Ocotepeque and Santa Bárbara	IHCAFE’s profile, via El Heraldo
Lempira, Ocotepeque, the north of Santa Bárbara and Cortés	El Heraldo’s own introduction to the same profile
The western region of Copán, Lempira and Ocotepeque	IHCAFE’s harvest report, via La Prensa

The region’s coffee town is Santa Rosa de Copán, which El Heraldo calls the capital of western coffee, for its coffee shops.

The growing conditions

IHCAFE’s profile for the region:

	Copán
Altitude	1,000–1,700 m
Rainfall	1,300–2,300 mm a year
Temperature	16–24 °C
Shade	Inga, fruit and timber trees
Varieties	Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí
Harvest	November–March

Source: IHCAFE, as published by El Heraldo, December 2023.

How much coffee does it grow?

A lot. In 2024–25, Copán department grew 953,911.58 quintales of 46 kg, about 731,000 60 kg bags and 15.4% of the national crop, second only to Comayagua, according to IHCAFE’s harvest report. The western region of Copán, Lempira and Ocotepeque together grew 42.9% of Honduras’s coffee, making it the country’s most important exporting area, the report says.

Rust is lower here than in central Honduras: in March 2026, incidence in Copán department was 6.76%, against a national 8.44%, though Santa Bárbara, partly in the region, reached 11.17%, USDA reports.

The western Honduras protected name

Coffee from the west is protected in the UK as Cafés del Occidente Hondureño (Honduras Western Coffees, HWC), a protected geographical indication registered on 31 December 2020 under the UK’s trade agreement with Central America. IHCAFE’s profiles say the neighbouring Opalaca region is part of the same western origin too.

Copán and other Honduran origins

• Coffee in Honduras: the whole country, its six regions and its harvest.
• Marcala (Montecillos): Central America’s first coffee denomination of origin.
• Comayagua: the department that grows the most.