Jesus Galeas

Espresso:

• Use 18g of coffee.
• Aim to extract 37 – 39g of liquid.
• Extraction time should be 28 – 32 sec.
• Water temperature: 93 – 94°C.

Filter/Drip/Immersion:

• Start with a ratio of 1:16 (coffee to water).
• Example: If using 20g of coffee, target around 320g of brewed liquid.
• Water temperature: 93 – 94°C.

Pour Over:

• Start with a ratio of 1:16 (coffee to water).
• Adjust coffee amount according to your brewing tool. Example: Using 15g of coffee.
• Bloom: Use 3 times the coffee weight for the bloom. Wait 30-45 seconds. Example: Bloom with 45g of water.
• Pours: After blooming, divide the final brew amount into two pours. Example: Two pours of 97g each.
• Total brew time: Aim for 2:45-3:30 minutes, but focus on taste rather than exact time.
• Water temperature: 93 – 94°C.

Don’t forget to play around with the variables and have fun!

Enjoy

Natural

Anaerobic Washed: Cherries are picked daily, floated to remove defects, and then stored in sealed GrainPro where they undergo low-oxygen fermentation for 48 hours. They are then de-pulped and dried on raised beds in a solar dryer for 35 days, before being placed in hermetically sealed bags to preserve their quality.

Honduras

Despite its status as the 4th largest exporter of coffee in the world, Honduras tends to fly under the radar in terms of specialty. From our perspective, however, the opportunities to write new realities via coffee are perhaps nowhere larger in the Americas than this tiny country. Our work here has been focused on a series of smallholder grower communities around the Montecillos mountain range, straddling the border of La Paz and Comayagua departments. Here, we’ve worked alongside generational smallholders as they’ve transitioned into specialty processing after decades of selling their coffee in cherry to the local market. The results have been remarkable.

History Doesn’t Happen, It Is Made

The story of Semilla’s work in Honduras begins with Antonio Ramirez. Born in Selguapa in 1950, he is the literal father of coffee in this region. At the time of his birth, Selguapa (1800 metres above sea level) was nothing more than a few casitas lodged in the steep, verdant ledges of the mountains of Comayagua. The principal economy for the majority of the late 20th century was beans and corn, and the population was incredibly isolated, having to venture on foot or muleback to the nearest cities of La Paz or Comayagua. 30 years ago, Antonio became one of the very first to commercially grow coffee in the area when he took over some abandoned land. There, sprinkled throughout the hills, were coffee plants – Pacas, Typica, and Bourbon. Finding the Pacas struggling in the frigid nights, he removed this variety and dedicated himself to the Typica and Bourbon. Like many Typica plants in Central and South America, the origin of these seeds is unknown, but they retain a deeply unique character: bright, clean and fruited, reminiscent of African coffees more so than the common perception of Central American coffees.

What We Paid for Jesus Galeas’ Coffee — Explained Simply

• Local farmgate price (2024):
  3,500 Lempiras per quintal of green coffee
  This is the average amount most farmers in the region were being paid — a baseline that reflects the general market price, not quality.

• Farmgate price paid to Jesus Galeas:
  7,500 Lempiras per quintal
  We paid more than double the local rate to recognize the quality of his work and support his transition to specialty coffee. This price helps ensure he earns a dignified, sustainable income.

• FOB (Free on Board) price:
  🚢 $3.28 USD per pound
  This is the export price, which includes all the costs of processing, milling, and logistics before the coffee leaves Honduras.

Most farmers in Jesus’s region earned 3,500 Lempiras per quintal in 2024. We paid 7,500 Lempiras — over 114% more— because this coffee is special, and so is the work behind it.

The FOB price of $3.28/lb reflects the full value of preparing the coffee for export, but the real impact starts at origin, by paying producers fairly and building long-term, transparent relationships.

This is what it means to invest in people, not just coffee. 🤝