According to the March 8, 2011 edition of the Wall St. Journal, a headline reports 'Arabica Coffee Prices Near a 14-Year High'. Bad weather in Central America and Columbia have kept prices high with Arabica rallying 46% over the past six months.
Obviously, high coffee prices are good for Honduras where coffee is a major export crop. My question though, is how much of the higher prices will actually benefit small farmers and producers and trickle-down into the wider economy as a whole?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Finding a Needle in a Haystack
I really like honey, I mean I really like honey. And, it's always irked me that the only honey I could find in Honduras is just 'miel de abeja' (often sour tasting or watered down), no other varieties such as clover, orange blossom, wild flower, etc., etc. as this is one specialty that I've always thought that Honduras could produce given the array of agriculture and vegetation throughout the country.
One of my favorites has always been 'orange blossom'. Whenever I'm in Florida, I always buy a few jars to bring home. So I've often complained and wondered why they didn't produce it in Honduras since there are so many orange groves in the northern part of the country. It would be a great artisanal item, and I'm sure I'm not alone in my appreciation of it's unique flavor.
Well, I'm glad to report that my wife was driving past Lake Yojoa recently and stopped at a small stand by the road. She's well aware of my honey fetish, and saw that they had three types of honey ranging from dark to a light amber. The honey was in plain jars without any labels or markings. She asked the vendor what each type was, and sure enough, one of them was 'orange blossom'.
So she bought a jar. The price was about half of what you pay for generic honey in a Honduran supermarket
The flavor was suberb, actually better than much of the honey in Florida, as it was not pasteurized and was totally natural...not as highly processed as in the States, just rich in flavor (and probably more nutrients).
I wish they could improve their packaging somewhat as it would be great for retail in supermarkets and specialty shops.
My wife found me that always elusive 'needle in the haystack'.
One of my favorites has always been 'orange blossom'. Whenever I'm in Florida, I always buy a few jars to bring home. So I've often complained and wondered why they didn't produce it in Honduras since there are so many orange groves in the northern part of the country. It would be a great artisanal item, and I'm sure I'm not alone in my appreciation of it's unique flavor.
Well, I'm glad to report that my wife was driving past Lake Yojoa recently and stopped at a small stand by the road. She's well aware of my honey fetish, and saw that they had three types of honey ranging from dark to a light amber. The honey was in plain jars without any labels or markings. She asked the vendor what each type was, and sure enough, one of them was 'orange blossom'.
So she bought a jar. The price was about half of what you pay for generic honey in a Honduran supermarket
The flavor was suberb, actually better than much of the honey in Florida, as it was not pasteurized and was totally natural...not as highly processed as in the States, just rich in flavor (and probably more nutrients).
I wish they could improve their packaging somewhat as it would be great for retail in supermarkets and specialty shops.
My wife found me that always elusive 'needle in the haystack'.
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