Edwin Ventura: I found my life's passion, coffee, when I was a child

What is the dream of a young farmer who grows extraordinary coffee? Edwin Ventura from Finca Ventura has the answer.

If you still have not tried the coffee of the month of November, Honduras Ventura, don’t waste time and order it. As you know, our coffee hunter Jordan Dabov was strongly impressed by it during Oro de Santa Barbara, the specialty coffee competition of Honduras, in April of this year. Honduras Ventura comes to your cup from the small family farm Finca Ventura of the hardworking Edwin Ventura. Here is what he shared with us about his passion for coffee and the farm work: Tell us how everything started. Edwin Ventura: Finca Ventura was acquired on November 28, 2013, with a bank loan, after exploring the region’s potential for specialty coffee production. Thanks to the unique agrarian and ecological conditions, it has proven to be more than just the right thing to do there. Initially, the farm had 1.11 hectares of coffee plantations, and recently we planted a new 0.39 hectare. What were the biggest challenges that you faced at the beginning? Edwin Ventura: For the 2014/2015 harvest we did not have the necessary equipment, so we had to use our neighbor’s facilities. We sold our coffee as a commercial product because we did not have conditions for good processing. For the harvest 2015/2016, we already had equipment and plastic coffee-processing vats. We built the first drying screens and only then we began to get the first bags of specialty coffee by processing through a natural and semi-dry process. For the 2016/2017 harvest, the number of micro-lots, which now amount to 75% of the farm’s land, has increased. The average score we received from the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) after they had tasted the coffee was 87.5 points. Tells us about your family. Edwin Ventura: With my wife Glodina Power, we have a 5-year-old son, Dugal Rodrigo Ventura. Though small, he already shares our passion for coffee. We live in Santa Rosa de Copán in the region of Copán. My family produces coffee for three generations now. My father, Rodrigo Ventura, who showed me the value of farm work and kindled the passion for coffee in me, supports me in the difficult moments of farm work and harvesting. What are your future plans? Edwin Ventura: I intend to invest in growing avocado hash to diversify our farm production. I also want to use the coffee by-product – cascara, which can be used for tea. We plan to extend the area from 1.5 to 2.9 hectares by planting another 1.4 hectares of Parainema coffee variety – winner of the Cup of Excellence Award for Best Coffee for 2015 and 2017 in Honduras. What are your dreams? Edwin Ventura: I dream of producing specialty coffee in a sustainable way and gaining profit from my work. I hope to be able to continue to do what I love so much to do in the future. I work in the coffee industry because of my passion for coffee that I felt since I was a child and because, luckily, I can provide for better living conditions for my family.