Anyone who has ever seen the 1985 film “Out of Africa,” or has taken a farm tour in countries like Brazil or Colombia, can imagine how involved is the task of growing, harvesting, and roasting coffee. Most of us purchase bags of it at a grocery store without a thought of where it originated.
Yet, Highlands native Alex Osteen, son of our dearly loved editor, Luke Osteen, knows coffee. In fact, he is the founder of Highlander Farms Coffee.
However, this 38-year-old had no idea when he signed up to serve in the Peace Corps while an undergrad student at Wake Forest University and before graduate school at Duke University, that the journey would lead him to a business that has grown since its founding in 2012.
Osteen was introduced to coffee agriculture while he worked as a Peace Corps Business Development volunteer. He learned from local farmers involved in a local coffee cooperative.
Alex Osteen
Thus, he decided to stay in Honduras and manage a small farm he purchased in the community of San Luis Planes, which abuts a cloud forest on the Santa Bárbara Mountain. He learned that the area “has a niche microclimate that produces truly superb quality coffee that is categorized as ‘high grown’ and ‘specialty’ grade.”
He began to focus on growing coffee plants so that the sale of roasted beans might help provide for the needs of the people in the San Luis Planes and encourage sustainability. And, not only did Osteen’s decision to become a coffee bean farmer turn out to be a smart move, but the successful farm has kept him linked to Honduras and the people who have become his friends.
“Aside from just staying connected to the people and having a good excuse to check-in regularly and go down to visit, we have been able to share a portion of our revenues with the (San Luis Planes) community,” said Osteen.
When determining a name for his coffee business, he needed to look no further than his hometown. “The namesake for the business end of the project has stepped up to the challenge and has been wonderful and supportive over the years,” he shared. “Many volunteers have accompanied me down (to Honduras) for visits and provided love and encouragement, donations of books, toys, and medical supplies, as well as funding for various projects along the way.”
The 2005 Highlands School alum added: “Several Highlands churches, including the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches have supported the cause, along with the Town of Highlands, Highlands School, and the Rotary Club. Over the years, we have worked with the San Luis Planes primary school, the local health clinic, the ecotourism project, the coffee co-op, the sustainable agriculture project, and the clean water project, among other initiatives. It means a lot that people care about helping out strangers in another country.”
At the San Luis Planes coffee farm is a full-time Honduran administrator and farm manager. Two acres of coffee plants are grown, and then the harvested beans are imported to Portland, Oregon, where Osteen and his wife, Casey, live currently due to his primary career with PacifiCorp. It is in their current city of residence that the coffee beans from the Honduran farm are roasted.
“The specialty coffee raters who try our coffee, known as ‘Q graders,’ commonly say it has rich and bold tasting notes, on the chocolatey and nutty side,” informed Osteen. “In my opinion, the taste profile makes it really good for breakfast sipping, especially when it is rainy outside. We drink it ourselves at home, market it here in the Pacific Northwest, and sell it online.”
Overseeing Highlander Farms Coffee as a side business is not just about profits for Osteen. The whole process, from start to finish, is meaningful. “Every time I drink the coffee grown from the farm in San Luis Planes, it instantly takes me back to my time there, reminiscing on the kind people and the hard work they’re doing day in and day out to make the (San Luis Planes) community a better place.”Further, Osteen asked to speak directly to Laurel readers – many of whom are customers of Highlander Farms Coffee, as well as supporters of his efforts in Honduras. He expressed: “As a thank-you to the Highlands-Cashiers community, we’re offering 25 percent off through the end of 2026 for Laurel Magazine readers (highlanderfarmscoffee.com; code: LAUREL25). We also welcome people to follow along, support the projects, or even join us on a future visit. We’re planning a trip around the next harvest in late 2026 or early 2027.”
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