This species has a somewhat robust glabrescent habit, subsessile well developed obovate leaves that are long-attenuate at the base, sessile or subsessile glomerulate inflorescences borne in the axils of the lower leaves, yellow to orange shortly tubular corollas 6-9 mm long with the lobes twice as long as the tube, and medium-sized ellipsid red fruits. The long leaf bases are narrow and often shortly rounded to truncate at the very base. The leaves are often dark green and velvety on the upper surface, with the veins often whitened. As noted by Burger in the Flora Mesoamericana, Hoffmannia lindenii may be an older name for Hoffmannia huehueteca based on the protologue description but no more information is currently available to check this.

Hoffmannia huehueteca is similar to Hoffmannia ghiesbreghtii, and these two species appear to be frequently confused (if they are in fact distinct). These two species appear to be separated based only on inflorescence arrangement, subcapitate to "glomerulate-cymose" (Burger in Flora Mesomaericana p. 127)in Hoffmannia huehueteca vs. "cymose to fasciculate" (ibid.) in Hoffmannia ghiesbreghtii with specimens identified by Burger as Hoffmannia ghiesbreghtii sometimes having very reduced inflorescences. These two species are also reported to differ in fruit size, ca. 6 mm in diameter in Hoffmannia huehueteca vs. 3-5 mm in diameter in Hoffmannia ghiesbreghtii, and this may be a better distinction.