Since the 2005 Cup of Excellence, Santa Barbara has been known as the region producing the most interesting, complex, and delicious coffees in Honduras. Two key families have been at the heart of this regional fame: the Paz family, who owns San Vicente, the company responsible for milling and exporting the coffees from the region, and the Moreno family, a farming family who has championed specialty coffee and the benefits it brings and have encouraged many other producers in the region to begin producing specialty coffee over commodity coffee.

The Moreno family patriarch, Daniel Moreno, started coffee farming in 1963 with the purchase of El Campo, a plantation that is still in production and now managed by his seven sons: Miguel, Mario, Jesus, Gerardo, Olvin, Mabel and Danny. In addition to El Campo, the brothers inherited their own farms from their father, who divided El Filo into lots for each son. Together the Morenos built a wet mill, raised beds, and solar dryers to process and prepare specialty coffee. The family helps and motivates other farmers in the region to produce and prepare better quality by sharing their knowledge and even facilities. There is palpable ambition in the area. Ambition to produce excellent coffee, to get paid well for their efforts, and to continue being considered the best coffee producing region in Honduras.

Passenger purchased two distinct lots produced by Olvin Moreno in 2019, keeping them fresh in deep freeze storage since their arrival in the States that summer. This particular lot is a pacas variety selection from Olvin’s Pinares Plot: a small farm located just below a protected forest reserve on Santa Barbara mountain.