Marcala (Montecillos)

Marcala is Honduras’s most famous coffee name. The town lies in Montecillos, the south-western highland region where cold nights slow the ripening of the cherries, and its coffee, with flavours of orange and peach, became Café Marcala, the first denomination of origin in Honduras and Central America, in 2005.

The short version

• Montecillos region, south-west Honduras, at about 1,200–1,600 m.
• Orange and peach, with lively, bright acidity and a velvety body.
• Cold nights, slow ripening, sweeter cherries.
• Harvest from December to April, the latest in Honduras.
• Central America’s first coffee denomination of origin, since 18 November 2005.

What does Marcala coffee taste like?

Fruity and bright. The Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) describes the Montecillos cup as having a fruity fragrance, lively, bright acidity, a velvety body and flavours of orange and peach. It credits the climate: the region’s nights tend to be cold, so the cherries ripen more slowly and develop a sweeter flavour.

Montecillos and Marcala

Montecillos is one of IHCAFE’s six coffee regions, and Marcala its best-known name. The region and the denomination are not the same area:

	Montecillos region	Café Marcala denomination
Area	La Paz, Comayagua, Santa Bárbara and Intibucá	202 villages in 19 municipalities of 3 departments
Altitude	1,200–1,600 m	Farms at 1,000–2,000 m
Temperature	14–22 °C	18–21 °C on average
Source	IHCAFE, via El Heraldo	DO Café Marcala presentation, via Sebrae

IHCAFE’s profile also gives 1,200–1,700 mm of rain a year, shade of inga, fruit, timber and pine trees, and the varieties Bourbon, Catuaí, Pacas and Caturra.

The denomination of origin

Café Marcala was granted to the municipality of Marcala on 18 November 2005, at the request of the Marcala Coffee Producers’ Association (ADOPCAM), the law firm García & Bodán records: the first denomination of origin legally recognised in Honduras and Central America. A denomination protects not just the name but the place and the techniques its farmers have developed, and it lasts as long as the conditions behind it hold.

A presentation on the denomination’s experience, published by Brazil’s Sebrae in 2018, says it began with 24 founding members and had grown to 2,398: 2,327 producers, 34 intermediaries, 17 exporters, 18 roasters and 2 brokers. 92% of its producers farm less than 5 hectares. Its checks follow the ISO 17020, 17025 and 17065 standards and Honduras’s technical standard for the denomination.

When is it harvested?

Last of all Honduras’s regions: from December to April, IHCAFE says, a month longer than the central and eastern regions.

Rust

Lower than the national average. In March 2026, rust incidence was 6.77% in La Paz and 9.27% in Intibucá, against 8.44% nationally; Comayagua, which the region shares, was the worst hit at 14.08%, USDA reports.

Marcala and other Honduran origins

• Coffee in Honduras: the whole country, its six regions and its harvest.
• Copán: the chocolatey coffee of the west.
• Comayagua: Marcala’s neighbour, and the biggest coffee department.