His grandfather planted the first trees in 1961, on ground nobody else wanted. Red volcanic clay, steep enough that you carry everything in on your back. Three generations later the oldest trees are still bearing.
The Land
Finca La Cumbre sits at 1,150 meters above San Jerónimo, in Comayagua. Spring water, deep shade, and a canopy of banana and cedar that was never cleared. The rain comes hard from May and the dry season bakes it back down.
The Cacao
Criollo, and a local Indio Rojo landrace nobody outside the valley grows. Harvest runs October through February. Fermented seven days in wooden boxes under banana leaves, then dried slow on raised beds.
Bright red fruit up front, molasses underneath, a little tobacco on the finish. It tastes like the place it came from.