Rene Benitez - Honduras

Tasting like brown sugar syrup, blood-orange peel and tropical fruits. Sweet lingering aftertaste.

Origin: Honduras
Region: El Portillo, Las Moras, Comayagua
Producer: Los Cedro
Elevation: 1550 masl
Variety: Parainema
Process: Anaerobic Washed

Cherries are harvested at peak ripeness and undergo an anaerobic washed process starting with 40 hours of cherry fermentation in plastic bags. After de-pulping, it ferments for another 35 hours in a dry environment using plastic bags and wooden piles. Drying is done in a solar dryer, covered with plastic and zaranda, for 20 to 25 days, ensuring consistent and gradual drying. Parchment is then stored in sealed plastic bags until milling.

Roasted for: Filter


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We are excited to present you Rene Benitez's lot, a sweet and syrupy coffee sourced through Semilla that supports producers in the area.

José Rene Benítez is a third-generation coffee farmer, husband, and father of seven, who has been growing coffee for over 25 years. He began with a small plot inherited from his father and expanded his farm through hard work and dedication. Coffee is his family's sole source of income and a deep-rooted passion. Despite challenges like rising costs and climate change, Rene remains committed to producing high-quality coffee. He hopes to continue exporting to international markets, earn better prices, and build a sustainable future for his children.

Semilla works in small, high-altitude hamlets along the Montecillos mountain range in Honduras, where coffee has long been the main source of income for smallholder farmers. Traditionally, these growers have sold their coffee cherries through exploitative channels—either to intermediaries in trucks offering low prices or by transporting cherries themselves to cities in hopes of finding a buyer. For the past 15 years, this model has kept farmers in poverty, unable to reinvest in their farms, and has contributed to widespread land abandonment and migration to major cities or abroad.

This crisis is part of a broader pattern of rural displacement in Honduras, worsened by foreign land grabs for industrial agriculture. Most smallholder farms are under 5 hectares and located in remote regions, making them especially vulnerable. In this context, Semilla offers a new model of ethical trade—buying coffee at highly profitable, consensus-based prices set with growers, not imposed on them. Their goal is to support entire communities, ensuring everyone benefits regardless of cup score, and to redefine foreign direct investment by sending money directly to producers without intermediaries.

To those who enjoy his coffee in other countries, Rene has a heartfelt message:

"Thank you for purchasing and enjoying our coffee. We hope to one day visit
your coffee shops and share our story with you in person."