Erin Hunt (Finca Bonaguia)

1- Introduce yourself: who are you, where are you from, where do you work and what’s your job.

My name is Erin Hunt I am from Jacksonville Florida, and I am the creative director for Finca Bonaguía.

2- When and why did coffee become important to you?

Coffee became especially important to me when I went to Honduras to meet my fiancés family a few years ago. I had never had an experience that was so intimate with coffee and the coffee community. It is a life changing experience that anyone involved in coffee industry ( or coffee lovers ) should experience.

3- Do you remember the first coffee you had that was more than “just a cup of coffee”?

I grew up in a household that enjoyed coffee and remember my Mother always grinding beans and picking her favorite types of whole beans etc, but the first time I really tapped into that specialty coffee experience was on a Giron family farm. They processed and roasted a batch right from the farm.

4- What’s your favorite thing about going to work in the morning?

The views. The drive and walking Bonaguía, feeling the temperatures change as you go further up into the mountain. The air becomes sweet and you start to see the dirt roads line with cliffs and coffee… it’s really special. When you go early in the morning, the dew is still dripping on the coffee cherry and the light from the filtered sun twinkles on the branches. You hear the symphony of the Oropendolas… it’s pretty special.

5- What’s your favorite brewing method and why?

I think it’s because that’s how my Mother made a good cup of coffee.

6- Which is the best coffee you ever tasted?

Giron coffees of course!

7- Is there a country of origin that you tend to favor coffee from?

I go back and forth from Honduras to Ethiopia Why? Well, I like to test what’s being produced out in the world and also flavor profiles of different regions are preferred on certain occasions for me. Sometimes I want something more fruity, sometimes I want something more earthy / nutty…

8- Suggest us a roastery to check (not the one you working at/you use at work).

I suggest Sequential Coffee and Paco’s in the US. They’re both local here in Florida. For Honduras – check out Spirit Animal. They’re really great with origin coffee relationships and female led farms, etc!

9- What’s the most important things you’ve learnt while working in the business?

It is about relationships. Working and understanding the people who put their heart and soul into their farms. It’s been interesting to learn about the people picking coffee and what life looks like for folks on the mountain. It  really changed my perspective on a lot of things about the industry. I believe that some things should change so we can extend more opportunities to the folks at origin, because without them – where would the coffee come from?

10- How your work and the specialty coffee world are coping with Covid and the new challenges for hospitality?

I think it’s certainly evolved in terms of safety measures to ensure that everyone is healthy and can perform while we get through this. While we do not have a lot of outside traffic in terms of hospitality, we maintain that visitors of the farm are safe and cautious etc.

11- How do you see the specialty coffee scene in 10 years?

I would hope that it continues to be of interest in the market and more doors open up for us and our peers  and that we can show more of what happens at origin. I really do believe that a lot of roasters and people in the coffee community want to lift up those folks at ground level and make sure that they can make a good living doing what they do. It’s an interesting time for farmers and the folks who pick coffee during harvest time.

12- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Growing the farm, working on creative aspects of Bonaguia, hitting milestones in the Giron coffee business’s, and helping the coffee community in the mountains of Honduras.

13- Any last word? Any tips or suggestions you wanna share with someone that want to start this path?

Visit a farm, get to know the people, learn from the elders who have a lot of information to offer, slow down and enjoy the sounds of the mountain. Hang out with like minded folks who want to hit goals. Be open and be prepared to grind!