-
CROP YEAR: 22/23
COFFEE GRADE: SHB HUEHUE
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca Familia Mendez
VARIETAL: Bourbon
PROCESSING: Natural
ALTITUDE: 1700 meter
OWNER: Juana & Minga Mendez
SUBREGION/TOWN: Chichimes, San Pedro Necta
-
REGION: Huehuetenango
FARM SIZE: 15 hectares
HARVEST MONTHS: November - April
-
This Coffee
-
Sisters Juana and Minga Mendez are 4th-generation coffee growers who have lived and farmed in Chichimes in Huehuetenango for most of their lives. In 2010, the sisters were the first female producers to work with Rosma Coffeelands to promote their coffees. Since then, they’ve been successfully exporting their coffees under their own name and receiving fair prices that enable them to reinvest in their farm.
Harvest and post harvest
Juana and Minga selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farm. They lay cherry to dry on patios. They rake cherry every hour to ensure even drying and cover it at night to prevent condensation. Once dry, cherry is bagged and stored in a mill in Huehuetenango, where the cool weather and low humidity is ideal for storing coffees. Coffee rests for about 3 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.
Kunder der har købt dette produkt har også købt