Some coffees are good, and some are foundational. What Natividad Benitez does at his farm, El Ocotillo, is the latter. Known as Nati to friends and neighbors, he has been as influential in Santa Barbara as the Paz family, who operate Beneficio San Vicente—the mill through which nearly all of the region’s best coffees pass.

In 2005, Nati won the first-ever Cup of Excellence in Honduras, putting Santa Barbara on the global specialty coffee map. His winnings allowed him to expand from one hectare to five, improve his processing, and uplift his family and community. He even helped another producer we work with, Roger Vasquez, acquire some of his best land.

We’ve worked with El Ocotillo for years—even before we started roasting. GGET co-founder Charles Babinski used it to win the U.S. Barista Championship and place second in the World Barista Competition.

During our visit this year, we walked the farm with Nati and saw a large number of IH90 trees, a variety considered lower quality than the Pacas coffees El Ocotillo is known for. Starting next year, Nati will replace all IH90 trees in the lot we receive—bringing immediate quality gains.