Honduras passed Guatemala as the top coffee producer in Central America

This year, Honduras passed Guatemala as the top coffee producer in Central America, the region that produces the bulk of the world's washed Arabica coffee beans, the most expensive and sought-after coffee beans, which are used in gourmet blends. Honduras's harvest this season was 3.8 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee, compared with 3.5 million bags for Guatemala.

While Colombia remains the world's top single producer of washed Arabica, the rise of Honduras provides the global coffee market with another top player, and a boost for the  nation's economy.

For Honduras, a poor nation known more for coups than coffee, topping its neighbour is sweet vindication. This has been because for years, many Honduran coffee growers smuggled their beans to Guatemala, where they would fetch a higher price due to Guatemala's reputation for quality coffee.

It has been one of the dirty secrets to the coffee trade - some of Guatemala's beans were actually grown in Honduras. As Guatemala's coffee commanded ever higher prices, it only encouraged more smuggling, creating a vicious cycle for Honduras's coffee industry.

Honduras had always had bigger harvests, however it never showed because of how much coffee was being smuggled.

Things started to change a few years ago, when a government tax on coffee exports—which initially led to more smuggling—helped fund technical assistance to growers that boosted production and quality, helping local prices rise and make smuggling less attractive.

Coffee traders, however, are keeping an eye on Honduras.

Honduras was like a sleeping giant – now the giant is awake.