About This Coffee
Jacinto Ramirez is a 4th generation coffee grower born and raised in Michicoy, a town in San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango. His farm is part of a larger network of farms owned and operated by his relatives.
Cultivation
Coffee is intercropped with chalum trees that provide shade for growing coffee. The chalum trees’ falling leaves also provide a natural fertilizer.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and pulped on the farm’s drum pulper. Coffee is fermented in fermentation tanks for 30 hours and then washed in clean water. Wet parchment is laid on patios to sundry. They rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 5 to 8 days for parchment to dry. Once dry, parchment is bagged and taken to a warehouse in Huehuetenango City where the low humidity is ideal for storing and resting parchment. Parchments rests for approximately 2 months before being milled and prepared for export.
About Huehuetenango
Huehuetenango is well-known for its high altitude and consistent weather patterns. The region lies at a nexus of hot air sweeping eastwards from the Plains of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico and cool air rushing down from the Cuchumantanes Mountains. The meeting of this hot and cold air creates a microclimate that keeps frost in check and enables coffee cultivation at higher altitudes. Coffee production at 2,000 meters above sea level here is common. These conditions are perfect for producing the sparkling acidity and distinctive fruit flavors of the region.
Coffee in Guatemala
Guatemala boasts a variety of growing regions and conditions that produce spectacular coffees. Today, the country is revered as a producer of some of the most flavorful and nuanced cups worldwide. We are proud to work with several exceptional in-country partners to bring these coffees to market.
The Guatemalan coffee industry experienced a major setback with the 2010 appearance of Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) in Latin America. The epidemic peaked in severity in 2012, and though CLR continues to affect some farms, Guatemala continues to produce high-quality, record-breaking coffees. In 2017, new and varied processing methods pushed prices at the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence contest to record highs.
The quality of coffee being produced in Guatemala is increasing, overall, due to the diversity of the industry’s producers. There are more and more small holder farmers producing exceptional coffee at high altitudes. Cooperatives are becoming more appealing to so many smallholders because they often offer farmers financing and other support for improving their farming and processing and are frequently able to offer higher prices for cherry than middlemen. Many cooperatives have initiated quality improvement training for farmer members and are becoming more adept at helping members market their coffee as specialty.