Notes: Candied Lemon, Vanilla, Caramel
Producer: Rafael Lara
Variety: Pacas
Region: Santa Barbara
Elevation: 1600
Process: Washed
Finca La Porra is Rafael Lara Rodríguez’s smaller, higher-elevation farm in Los Andes (Las Vegas, Santa Bárbara), Honduras—about 2.1 hectares at 1,600 masl. This lot is 100% Pacas, and the harvest typically runs January through June.
We’ve been buying Rafael’s coffees every year since 2018, and La Porra is one we come back to for its straightforward, hardworking character—very much like the story behind the name.
This plot is far out and, frankly, a bit of a pain to reach. The phrase “la porra” can be used as a gritty “go away / go to hell” kind of expression, and the joke on the farm was that if you drew the short straw and had to go work out there… you were basically being “sent to la porra.” Over time the nickname stuck, and the farm became “Finca La Porra”.
Processing here is a classic, careful washed method: ripe cherry selection, afternoon de-pulping, 16 hours of dry fermentation, four rinses, then slow drying in a parabolic solar dryer for ~18 days, with hand-sorting during drying to remove defects. The lot is prepared to EP (zero defects).
Rafael’s path into specialty coffee is rooted in persistence. He started farming alongside his father (vegetables and corn), received land in 2000, and planted coffee after seeing it out-perform vegetables for nearby families. After years of conventional production and price instability, he transitioned into specialty coffee in 2016 with support from a neighbor and Benjamin Paz at San Vicente, and that shift improved his economic stability—enough that he’s since purchased additional plots and planted more coffee for the specialty market.
He also grows plantain and avocado, and his biggest ongoing challenge is labor—many young people have emigrated, making harvest staffing difficult. His next goals are practical and impact-driven: building a warehouse for harvest-time storage and a better solar dryer.
ABOUT THE EXPORTER: SAN VICENTE
Beneficio San Vicente, run by the Paz family in Peña Blanca, has played a major role in elevating Honduran specialty coffee over the last few decades.
Founded by Fidel Paz in the early 1980s, San Vicente steadily grew from exporting reliable high-grown coffees into one of the most influential specialty exporters in the country—helping producers refine harvesting, processing, and lot separation as the global market began paying closer attention to microlots from villages around Peña Blanca.
Today, San Vicente is known for deep producer relationships, thoughtful agronomy support, and the behind-the-scenes rigor it takes to move small lots well—export logistics, quality control, and the kind of consistency that lets producers like Rafael focus on making their farms better year after year. We’re proud to source through San Vicente, and grateful for the long-term relationships they help make possible.
Notes: Candied Lemon, Vanilla, Caramel
Producer: Rafael Lara
Variety: Pacas
Region: Santa Barbara
Elevation: 1600
Process: Washed
Finca La Porra is Rafael Lara Rodríguez’s smaller, higher-elevation farm in Los Andes (Las Vegas, Santa Bárbara), Honduras—about 2.1 hectares at 1,600 masl. This lot is 100% Pacas, and the harvest typically runs January through June.
We’ve been buying Rafael’s coffees every year since 2018, and La Porra is one we come back to for its straightforward, hardworking character—very much like the story behind the name.
This plot is far out and, frankly, a bit of a pain to reach. The phrase “la porra” can be used as a gritty “go away / go to hell” kind of expression, and the joke on the farm was that if you drew the short straw and had to go work out there… you were basically being “sent to la porra.” Over time the nickname stuck, and the farm became “Finca La Porra”.
Processing here is a classic, careful washed method: ripe cherry selection, afternoon de-pulping, 16 hours of dry fermentation, four rinses, then slow drying in a parabolic solar dryer for ~18 days, with hand-sorting during drying to remove defects. The lot is prepared to EP (zero defects).
Rafael’s path into specialty coffee is rooted in persistence. He started farming alongside his father (vegetables and corn), received land in 2000, and planted coffee after seeing it out-perform vegetables for nearby families. After years of conventional production and price instability, he transitioned into specialty coffee in 2016 with support from a neighbor and Benjamin Paz at San Vicente, and that shift improved his economic stability—enough that he’s since purchased additional plots and planted more coffee for the specialty market.
He also grows plantain and avocado, and his biggest ongoing challenge is labor—many young people have emigrated, making harvest staffing difficult. His next goals are practical and impact-driven: building a warehouse for harvest-time storage and a better solar dryer.
ABOUT THE EXPORTER: SAN VICENTE
Beneficio San Vicente, run by the Paz family in Peña Blanca, has played a major role in elevating Honduran specialty coffee over the last few decades.
Founded by Fidel Paz in the early 1980s, San Vicente steadily grew from exporting reliable high-grown coffees into one of the most influential specialty exporters in the country—helping producers refine harvesting, processing, and lot separation as the global market began paying closer attention to microlots from villages around Peña Blanca.
Today, San Vicente is known for deep producer relationships, thoughtful agronomy support, and the behind-the-scenes rigor it takes to move small lots well—export logistics, quality control, and the kind of consistency that lets producers like Rafael focus on making their farms better year after year. We’re proud to source through San Vicente, and grateful for the long-term relationships they help make possible.
