Opalaca

Opalaca is the western Honduran coffee region east of Copán, taking in Santa Bárbara, Intibucá and Lempira. IHCAFE describes it as land where coffee growing has been passed down from generation to generation, and in the last few years its departments have dominated the Cup of Excellence, Santa Bárbara above all.

The short version

• Western Honduras: Santa Bárbara, Intibucá and Lempira.
• 1,100–1,700 metres, harvested November to February.
• Aromatic, delicate and sweet, by IHCAFE’s profile.
• Cup of Excellence winners from all three departments in 2023, 2025 and 2026.
• Part of the Cafés del Occidente Hondureño protected name.

What does Opalaca coffee taste like?

Aromatic and delicate. IHCAFE’s region profile describes an aromatic coffee with a fine, delicate acidity, good balance, a soft body and a sweet aftertaste.

The competition results show what its best farms can do. Category winners and top places from the region’s three departments:

Year	Farm	Department	Coffee	Place	Score
2023	Pino de Oro	Santa Bárbara	Pacamara, natural	1st	91.78
2023	Las Virginias	Santa Bárbara	Geisha, washed	2nd	91.08
2023	La Fresa	Lempira	Geisha, washed	3rd	89.92
2025	Finca Dariela	Lempira	Typica, natural	1st, traditional varieties	90.50
2025	El Rubí	Santa Bárbara	Parainema, washed	1st, Parainema	89.65
2026	La Cascada	Lempira	Typica, washed	1st, traditional	89.82
2026	El Pimporro	Intibucá	Geisha, washed	1st, exotic	90.50
2026	La Loma	Santa Bárbara	Parainema, natural	1st, Parainema	89.14

Source: Alliance for Coffee Excellence.

In 2023 most of the ranked lots came from Santa Bárbara. El Heraldo reported that the winner of the 20th Cup of Excellence came from Las Vegas, Santa Bárbara, where IHCAFE recorded the country’s best-quality coffee in 2023-24.

Where and how is it grown?

IHCAFE’s profile of the region:

Measure	Figure
Departments	Santa Bárbara, Intibucá, Lempira
Altitude	1,100–1,700 m
Rainfall	1,350–1,900 mm a year
Temperature	16–22 °C
Shade	Inga, fruit and timber trees
Varieties	Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí, Typica
Harvest	November to February

Source: IHCAFE, via El Heraldo (2023).

The regions overlap: IHCAFE also lists Santa Bárbara under the Copán and Montecillos regions, and Intibucá under Montecillos. Opalaca is part of the origin of Cafés del Occidente Hondureño (HWC), the western Honduras coffee name protected in the UK since 31 December 2020. Rust is a concern here: in March 2026 incidence reached 11.17% in Santa Bárbara and 9.27% in Intibucá, against a national average of 8.44%, USDA reports.

How much coffee does Opalaca grow?

IHCAFE does not publish a figure for the region, and its departments are shared with other regions. The department figures:

Department	Production	Year	Source
Lempira	1,088,587 quintales oro	2022-23	IHCAFE, via La Prensa
Lempira	931,602 sacos, the most of any department	2023-24	IHCAFE, via El Heraldo
Lempira	906,404 quintales oro	2024-25	IHCAFE, via La Prensa
Santa Bárbara	737,015 quintales oro	2022-23	IHCAFE, via La Prensa
Intibucá	Yield of 18.39 quintales a manzana	2022-23	IHCAFE, via La Prensa

The 2022-23 figure for Santa Bárbara is identical to the one given for Ocotepeque in the same report, so one of the two may be a transcription error. In 2021, Santa Bárbara’s regional office had 15% of Honduras’s coffee producers, a study found.

Opalaca and other Honduran origins

• Coffee in Honduras: the whole country, its six regions and its harvest.
• Copán: the western region next door.
• Marcala (Montecillos): the region that shares Santa Bárbara and Intibucá, home of Central America’s first coffee denomination of origin.