Kelvin Piñeda - Santa Barbara - Honduras - Washed Anaerobic

Kelvin Piñeda FINCA LA ARIANITA Santa Barbara, Honduras Process: Washed Anaerobic Varietal: Pacas Producer: Kelvin Piñeda Altitude: 1713 MASL Region: Los Andes, El Cedral Municipality, Santa Barbara SCA: 87.25 About Kelvin Pineda Kelvin grew up around coffee, but responsibility arrived early. After his father died in 2010, he stepped into an adult life carrying far more than most young producers ever should. For several years, selling vegetables made more sense than coffee: it moved faster, paid sooner, and helped keep food on the table for his mother and siblings. When he returned to coffee in 2017, it was not a romantic return to origin. It was a deliberate decision to build something steadier, more valuable and long lasting. That same year, after acquiring a small parcel through his father-in-law, he produced his first specialty lot and it was outstanding. In Santa Bárbara, such beginnings matter and are often visible. Kelvin is part of the extended circle around his brother in law - Elio Díaz and Beneficio San Vicente — a network that has helped give Santa Bárbara growers a route into the specialty market without separating quality from family, or agriculture from community. As Elio’s health made farm work more difficult in 2020, Kelvin took on more of the management and gradually became the working force most closely associated with La Arianita. A farm named after his oldest daughter (picture below). Farm location: Honduras Altitude: 1670 - 1760 masl Processing: washed / anaerobic Variety: Pacas In 2019, one of Kelvin's coffees — a washed Bourbon from Los Andes — received the highest score in the Best of Honduras Late Harvest, breaking 90 points. I was able to buy this lot. Then in 2023, La Arianita placed 13th in the Honduras Cup of Excellence with a washed Pacas lot that sold for US$20.20 per pound at an auction. Those results matter, of course, but what they really show is something simpler: La Arianita is producing coffees of real quality, while staying focused in the varieties and washed profiles that have made Santa Bárbara so respected. What I find especially touching, is that Kelvin’s dream is not framed in big or dramatic terms. He simply wants to visit a café that serves his coffee. There is something very honest in that. It speaks to the part of specialty coffee that matters most — not only recognition, but connection. The wish to see your work valued, prepared with care, and enjoyed far from where it was grown. La Arianita is more than a beautiful coffee from Santa Bárbara. It is a reminder that continuity, family knowledge and close relationships still sit at the heart of meaningful coffee work. Arianita is run by Kelvin Pineda, a coffee producer raised surrounded by coffee plants. Kelvin's life took a major turn when he lost his father in 2010, making him the head of the family at just 20 years old. While he focused on growing vegetables to support his family, Kelvin returned to coffee in 2017, buying a small property with an existing plantation. Since then, his dedication to quality and his dream of seeing his coffee served in cafes worldwide have shaped the future of both his farm and his life.