Copán Ruinas · Honduras
Café Welchez
Café Welchez roasts in Copán Ruinas, Copán Department.
Overview
Café Welchez is a family producer-roaster in western Honduras whose Finca Santa Isabel was bought by Don Raúl Wélchez in the early 1950s and renamed under the Café Welchez brand in the mid-1990s. The 1,000–1,300 masl Copán farm grows Bourbon, Catuaí, Caturra, Parainema and Geisha across washed, honey and natural processes, supplies retail and wholesale Honduran coffee to a small chain of cafés in Copán Ruinas and San Pedro Sula, and is Rainforest Alliance certified.
Known for
- Finca Santa Isabel acquired by Don Raúl Wélchez in the early 1950s — three-generation family producer
- Brand Café Welchez launched mid-1990s as the family's quality-focused export and retail line
- Five-variety planting (Bourbon, Catuaí, Caturra, Parainema, Geisha) grown 1,000–1,300 masl in Copán
- Specialty microlots across washed, honey and natural processes
- Rainforest Alliance certified; on-farm coffee tour at Santa Isabel
Why it matters
Welchez is the highest-profile Honduran example of a multi-generation producer family that owns its own retail brand. Honduras is one of Central America's largest coffee origins but the country's specialty-grade beans almost universally export rather than appear in domestic cafés; Welchez's Copán-Ruinas-and-San-Pedro-Sula footprint anchors a recognizable Honduran-grown specialty experience for both locals and the heavy tourist traffic at the Mayan ruins.
Production
- roastery location
- Copán, Honduras
Café
Copán Ruinas town square + Pedregal and Barrio Río de Piedras locations in San Pedro Sula
Recognitions
- Rainforest Alliance certified