Region · Honduras

Montecillos

Southwestern Honduran coffee region on the Salvadoran border, home to Marcala and grown at roughly 1,200-1,600 m.

Montecillos lies along the Salvadoran border in southwestern Honduras, with coffee grown at roughly 1,200-1,600 meters. Cold nights let cherries ripen slowly, which one source links to enhanced sweetness. Cups are described as showing citrus, peach, apricot and caramel notes with a velvety body and tartaric acidity. It is home to Honduras' first origin denomination, Café de Marcala. Its profile covers La Paz, Comayagua, southern Santa Bárbara and Intibucá, with 1,300-2,300 mm of rain a year and pine among the shade trees.

Field notes

  1. i

    Red Honduras says Montecillos puts more coffee into national specialty competitions than any other region.

  2. ii

    Montecillos is the only one of the six regions whose harvest is listed as running into April.

In the cup, according to guides

  • Stone fruitOften notedRed Honduras lists orange and peach flavors and Perfect Daily Grind citrus, peach and apricot.
  • AcidityMoreRed Honduras describes bright acidity and Perfect Daily Grind a sparkling tartaric one.
  • BodyMoreBoth sources describe a velvety body.

Within Montecillos

Sources · 4 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-10. Some details here are less settled than others.
  1. Introducing the 6 Coffee Regions of Honduras · Perfect Daily Grind
  2. Marcala · Wikipedia
  3. Geographic Regions of Coffee in Honduras · Red Honduras
  4. De Copán a El Paraíso: el café hondureño desvela sus secretos · El Heraldo (Honduras)

Place positions: GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Coastlines: Natural Earth (public domain).