Honduras — Ángel Arturo Paz El Itacayo Gesha (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌺 Gardenia • 🥭 Mango • 🍵 Oolong Tea • 🍪 Vanilla Cookie

DETAILS

• Producer: Ángel Arturo Paz Ramírez
• Farm: Finca El Itacayo
• Region: La Unión El Dorado, Santa Bárbara, Honduras
• Varietal: Gesha
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,550–1,730 MASL
  
• Roast: Light

INTRO

From Ángel Arturo Paz at Finca El Itacayo — the quieter, shyer, unsung hero of the Paz family's celebrated Santa Bárbara coffee story. While his cousin Benjamin may be the more familiar name, Arturo's contributions to the family's San Vicente Coffee Exporters operation — and to the specialty coffee world through his own lots — are equally remarkable. A delicate and sweet washed Gesha of extraordinary character. In the cup: gardenia, mango, oolong tea, and vanilla cookie.

THE PRODUCER

Arturo Paz is a third-generation coffee producer from Santa Bárbara — part of one of Honduras's most respected coffee families, whose dry mill and export company San Vicente Coffee Exporters has been instrumental in developing the region's specialty coffee reputation. Arturo serves as chief of quality control at San Vicente, a role that gives him an unusually precise understanding of what makes exceptional coffee — and an equally precise approach to producing it at Finca El Itacayo.

He acquired El Itacayo in 2018, planting Gesha, Pacas, SL-28, and Bourbon across the 3-hectare farm on the border of a wildlife preserve — creating a buffer zone that protects the local ecosystem while producing the cool, wet microclimate ideal for high-quality coffee. His Gesha seeds were sourced directly from Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. His first harvest came in 2021, and by 2024 his washed Gesha had placed 7th at the Honduras Cup of Excellence — 9th in 2025 — establishing Itacayo as one of the most rapidly rising names in Honduran specialty coffee. His commitment to forest conservation extends beyond the farm: Arturo hopes to link his protected land to nearby national parkland to support the biodiversity that makes this microclimate so extraordinary.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Finca El Itacayo involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — Gesha cherries selectively harvested at peak ripeness and hand-sorted before processing 💧 Flotation — Floated to further remove defects 🔧 De-pulping — Outer skin removed before fermentation 🧪 Dry fermentation — Dry-fermented to develop complexity 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed with abundant water to remove all fermentation residue ☀️ Drying — Dried on raised beds to optimal moisture content

The meticulous washed processing is the defining step — by removing all fruit influence and fermenting with precision, Arturo allows the Gesha's intrinsic gardenia florality, mango sweetness, and oolong tea elegance to express themselves with the delicacy and clarity that have made Itacayo so celebrated.

THE CUP

A delicate, sweet, and thoroughly elegant washed Gesha from one of Santa Bárbara's most technically accomplished and quietly celebrated producers — gardenia florality, mango tropical sweetness, oolong tea refinement, and a warm vanilla cookie finish. The unsung hero of the Paz family, writing his own very compelling chapter.

Flavour Notes

🌺 Gardenia 🥭 Mango 🍵 Oolong Tea 🍪 Vanilla Cookie