Clear Lake Coffee Roasters: Explorer Series - Hurricanes and Coffee: Central America in the Wake of Eta and Iota - April 29, 2021

Two powerful hurricanes make landfall just 14 days and 15 miles apart … during a pandemic. As we all know, this isn’t a pitch for a disaster movie. It really happened.

On November 3rd, Hurricane Eta slammed into the north eastern coast of Nicaragua and although it quickly weakened to a tropical depression the storm lingered over Central America for two more days, causing widespread damage, flooding, landslides and, sadly, hundreds of deaths, as did Hurricane Iota just 14 days later. Iota landed 15 miles south of where Eta hit, adding insult to injury and pushing Eta recovery efforts into rewind.

Central America was the most heavily hit by the two hurricanes, but South America, the Caribbean, and North America were also impacted. At least 250 people are known to have died and at least another 150 people are known to be missing. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced amid billions of dollars in damage. But comprehensive assessments are still in the early days as power and communication services have only just begun to be restored.

While it’s too early to understand coffee losses, early estimates range from 2-5% of production from Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico; and, of course, all logistic activity will experience delays. 

Coffee Comes Together

As we often see within the coffee industry when tragedy strikes, people are coming together to assist our coffee friends in Central America. Clear Lake Coffee Roasters would like to highlight a fundraising campaign for the coffee-growing families of the Santa Barbara mountain region in Honduras.

This video from a coffee farmer in Honduras who works with Clear Lake Coffee Roasters

Several coffee publications and organizations have published additional fund raising efforts, from crowdsourcing aimed at assisting specific producers, to nonprofit relief efforts. We invite you to review the news and information found in the links below.

Daily Coffee News: Support Hurricane Eta and Iota Relief Efforts

Sprudge: Still Recovering from Eta, Central America Gets Hits by Hurricane Iota

Specialty Coffee Association

Whilst you're here are 6 reasons for making Clear Lake Coffee Roasters - CLCR - your go-to coffee roaster:


☕️ We are a local family-run business located in the heart of Clear Lake, Iowa.

☕️ We go to great lengths to find only the finest and ethically sourced coffee around, from the top 2% of coffee beans in the world.

☕️ We only source 100% certified Arabica coffee beans, carefully hand-selecting each coffee based on specific quality and taste attributes.

☕️ Our roasting process has been refined over the years and each roast profile is individually designed to complement the nuances of the coffee we source, from Cup of Excellence (COE) award-winning producers.

☕️ By roasting in smaller batches, we can ensure our coffee is ALWAYS fresh, in fact, we roast your coffee only after you place an order - the same day your order ships out.

☕️ At CLCR, we are dedicated to a single mission: the unyielding pursuit of coffee perfection in every cup.

We would give you more reasons, but rather than reading it's better if you visit our website, purchase a bag or two, and experience a unique caffeinated or half-caff journey for yourself 😊!
Explore goodness. Click. Buy. Smile.

Clear Lake City Park Beach - Named one of USA Today's top 50 Beaches in the United States.