Two Producers, Two Honors at the 2026 Global Coffee Awards: Silver for Oscar Ramírez's Paraideli, Finalist for Carlos Amaya's Las Huertas

The judges didn't know where these coffees came from. They only knew what was in the cup. On August 12, 2026, an independent panel of expert judges sat down in Houston, Texas, for the Global Coffee Awards – LATAM, tasted blind through a field of around 100 entries from roasters across Latin America, and came back with two results we are proud to share:

• 🥈 Silver in Filter / Single Origin Experimental for Paraideli, the Parainema grown by Oscar Ramírez
• 🏅 Finalist in Espresso / Single Origin Experimental for Las Huertas, our brand-new Catuai from Carlos Amaya

Only one Gold, one Silver, one Bronze, one Honorable Mention and one Finalist are awarded in each category and subcategory. Two Honduran producers, two places at the top of their categories. Before we say anything else: this is their achievement, and we want to start with them.

Oscar Ramírez and Paraideli: Silver in Filter

If you've followed us for a while, you already know Don Oscar's coffee. His washed Parainema from Finca Paraideli is a Cup of Excellence winner with an 88.6-point cup score on the SCA scale, and it's the coffee many of our guests point to when they describe what a Honduran coffee can be. It's also the very lot on our shelves today.

• Producer: Oscar Ramírez
• Farm: Finca Paraideli, Honduras
• Variety & process: Parainema, washed
• Award: Silver, Filter / Single Origin Experimental, Global Coffee Awards LATAM 2026

Here is what the judges wrote, word for word:

"Brown sugar syrup, grapefruit and green apple opened this coffee, developing prunes, stone fruit, caramel, fresh figs, raisin and sparkling, lively fresh orange zest acidity through a creamy texture. The judges found this tart, sweet and very juicy, praising the very bright acidity and well balanced structure that remained lively even as the cup cooled."

The panel also called it "a very well executed roast." We'll take that. But the brown sugar, the figs, the orange zest that stays lively as the cup cools: that is Don Oscar's farm talking. We just try not to get in its way.

Carlos Amaya and Las Huertas: Finalist in Espresso

This one is new, so new that most of you haven't tasted it yet. Las Huertas is a Catuai from producer Carlos Amaya. We entered it in the Espresso category, one of the hardest places for a single-origin coffee to stand out, and it came back a Finalist among the top coffees in its subcategory.

• Producer: Carlos Amaya
• Coffee: Las Huertas, Honduras
• Variety: Catuai
• Award: Finalist, Espresso / Single Origin Experimental, Global Coffee Awards LATAM 2026

In the cup, the judges found plum, golden raisin and dark chocolate, with a bright acidity that carries from the middle of the shot through the finish. A Finalist placement for a brand-new coffee tells us Carlos has grown something special, and it tells us where to go next with the roast. We can't wait to put it in your hands.

Why a blind tasting matters

The Global Coffee Awards follow a strict double-blind protocol. No identifying information is shared with anyone preparing, serving or evaluating the coffees, and every sample is judged without any knowledge of the roaster's market or style. After each tasting, the judges score the coffee, agree on tasting notes and write feedback for the roaster.

That's what makes this recognition meaningful to us. There was no story on the table, no Roatán, no Honduras, no Spirit Origin. Just two coffees from two Honduran farms, standing on their own next to the best of Latin America.

The best of Honduras stays in Honduras

Two months ago we shared that, for the second year in a row, we secured the #1 lot at the Cup of Excellence Honduras auction and kept it at origin. These awards continue the same story from a different angle: coffees grown in Honduras, roasted in Honduras at our flagship roastery in First Bight, Roatán, and now recognized among the best in Latin America without ever leaving the country to get there.

When a Honduran coffee wins on the world stage, the value should flow back to the producer and the community that grew it. That is why we roast at origin, and why we'll be standing next to both producers at the Global Coffee Awards ceremony at the Producer & Roaster Forum in Chiapas, Mexico, in March 2027. They have been invited alongside us, and that is exactly as it should be.

Where to taste the winners

In Roatán: the Paraideli Parainema is roasted at our 12,000-square-foot flagship in First Bight and served at the café and at our Coffee Omakase, a 21-seat, reservation-only tasting where coffees like these are brewed and presented the way they deserve. Las Huertas will join it on the menu as soon as it's ready.

Online: the Silver-winning Paraideli Parainema is available now, roasted at origin and shipped within days of roasting. Las Huertas is coming soon. Join our newsletter to be first in line.

Keep an eye out for the official Global Coffee Awards seal, too. You'll soon see it on our bags and on the menu in Roatán, next to the coffees that earned it.

Thank you

To Don Oscar Ramírez and Don Carlos Amaya, and to every hand on their farms: this recognition is yours first. To the Global Coffee Awards judging committee and the Producer & Roaster Forum team, thank you for putting Latin American coffee under a fair, blind and rigorous light. To our team in Roatán, and to everyone who has brewed a bag of our coffee at home: thank you for being part of the journey. ☕