Coffee Blog

Mothers Day

15 May 2006 Every year we celebrate the second Sunday of May as Mothers Day, and this year was no exception. We gave gifts to every mother that works here in Inaginsa and Beneficio Maya. Happy Mothers Day!

Company Vacation in Tela

17 April 2006 As a reward for their hard work, as well as in keeping with a company tradition, the production department was treated to a group vacation at the Caribbean resort of Tela during Easter Week. All who attended enjoyed themselves to the point of exhaustion, and were left wishing it was Easter Week all over again in order to go back and have more fun.

Shareholders meeting

25 March 2006 The eleventh annual shareholders meeting was held, conducted by President Jorge A. Portillo and presided by General Manager Luis Castellanos. All who attended await the twelfth annual assembly to be held next year.

More on the cultivation of coffee

5 February 2006 Currently coffee is produced in more than fifty nations around the world and sustains more than twenty million producers and consumers. Like any fruit bearing plant, the coffee bush needs certain conditions for optimal growth and yield. This growth belt lies between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

The cultivation of coffee in Honduras

30 January 2006 Official data on the cultivation of coffee during the colonial era in Honduras is based upon a citation in the Statistical Annuary of Honduras by Antonio R. Vallejo, published in 1889-1893, in which we find the 1801 census taken by Acting Governor Ramón de Anguiano in 1804. "Coffee is of the same excellent quality as moka. It is believed to have been planted by curious individuals because it was unknown in this province just a few years ago, and although the harvest is small it could become a major crop given that yields in this province are double those of traditional coffee harvesting nations."

The preceding citation appears to contradict the story that the first coffee seeds came to Honduras from Costa Rica, given that in 1804 the coffee plants were producing abundant fruit, or in other words, were more than five years old.

Kaldi and his crazy goats

15 January 2006 A legend known to Muslims and Christans relates how a goatherd named Kaldi noticed that his goats behaved strangely after eating the fruit and leaves of a certain bush. They seemed more lively and energetic. Kaldi thus decided to try for himself what they were eating, and had the same sensation as the goats. Impressed, Kaldi took branches, leaves, and fruit from the bush to the wise men of a nearby monastary. Upon hearing Kaldi's story, the monks decided to boil the leaves, branches, and fruit, which produced a liquid so bitter that it was thrown into the fire. But when the fruit was cast into the fire, a delicious aroma filled the room. Deciding thus to prepare a beverage from the toasted bean of the fruit, the monks discovered the marvelous beverage we enjoy today.

Merry Christmas

25 December 2005 In honor of the birth of Jesus we would like to wish a very merry Christmas to the many people upon whom our company depends, and especially to our customers and suppliers.

Christmas party

16 December 2005 Today all the employees of Inaginsa and Beneficio Maya celebrated our annual company Christmas party, dancing, eating, drinking, drinking (did I already say that?), and having fun in a big way until dawn. Some were lucky enough to take home Christmas baskets, bicycles, and other special prizes provided by the companies for the occasion.

Helping our seniors

2 December 2005 Because we cannot forget the forgotten, the employees of Beneficio Maya celebrated Christmas with the residents of Santa Rosa de Copán's retirement home, bringing them food, beverages, and happy moments with live marimba music and gifts. Let's not forget the forgotten.

Visitors from Canada

20 November 2005 Our coffee continues to travel around the world, thanks to Tom, Mike, Bob, and their companions who visited us from Canada.

Congratulations Roel

17 November 2005 In Beneficio Maya we give a double dose of congratulations to our roaster José Roel Mathéu Román, first for his marriage to his bride Florcita and second for his graduation as an accountant. As our roaster, Roel is the man who insures that your coffee always has just the right flavor and body in your cup. Once again, CONGRATULATIONS ROEL!

Visitors from Japan

15 November 2005 We would like to thank the many tourists who visit our country and our company, where visitors are always welcome. With this photograph we show that our coffee travels as far away as Eastern Europe, accompanying these Japanese travelers along with their souvenirs and photos.

Frijoles del Campo

10 November 2005 Beneficio Maya, makers of Café Copán, continues to grow and extend its product line. We are pleased to present our new line of red beans, Frijoles del Campo, in 2 lb. bags, cleaned and ready to cook and enjoy.

Spanish language site launched

1 November 2005 When we first launched our website in 2000, we anticipated receiving primarily English speaking visitors, and it was a pleasant surprise to learn from our logs that our site also attracts many visitors from here in Honduras and from many other Spanish speaking nations. For that reason we are pleased to announce that our site has been translated into Spanish and is available online.

In the upper right hand corner of this and every page you will see links to the English and Spanish versions of that page. So whether you prefer English or Spanish, we speak your language.

Specialty products

15 September 2005 A friend recently asked us why some of our coffees are not featured on our website. The answer is that two of our products, Café Ambassador and Café del Campo, are produced for specialty markets. Café Ambassador is an economical coffee blended for the Honduran domestic market. We immodestly consider it to be the best domestic grade coffee available in our country. Café Ambassador can be found in grocery stores throughout Honduras.

Café del Campo is another specialty coffee. Quite unlike typical American supermarket coffee, Café del Campo provides a "just like home" flavor for the growing Hispanic market in the United States. Café del Campo can be found in select specialty supermarkets in the U.S.

Website redesigned

8 September 2005 We've finally done it. After years of talking about it, we've completely redesigned our website.

Way back in 2000 when we launched cafecopan.com, we were breaking new ground. We were the first Honduran producer to offer coffee on the web, and we've learned a lot as we have grown.

Naturally a lot has happened in the last five years. Now it seems everyone has a website pushing coffee, and if imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then we are very flattered indeed.

The technology has also changed considerably. The tables based layout of our original site has gone from cutting edge to dull blade, and the presentational markup that we so liked back then is simply embarrassing today.

Fast forward to 2005. We've worked hard to make our site more attractive to view and more enjoyable to use. For the technically inclined, we have rewritten our code from scratch to separate content from presentation, replaced our layout tables with CSS, and made sure that our code validates -- things few commercial websites bother to do, but for us is just a reflection of the same commitment to quality that shows in our coffee.

So what do you think? If you have a comment about our new design, either positive or negative, please let our designer and webmaster Warren Post at New Media Copán know. We'd like to hear if the new site works for you, and what improvements you would like to see.

Welcome to the blog

7 September 2005 Welcome to the Café Copán coffee blog. Here is where we'll be sharing with you our notes and thoughts on our family business and on coffee in general. If it's new at Café Copán, you'll see it here first.

If you would like to comment on something you see in our blog, please let our blogista Luis Castellanos know. This is an experimental space and we'd like to know what you think.