Huehuetenango is a department located in the northwestern area around 265km from the capital city of Guatemala. The department of Huehuetenango is known for its wide variety of agricultural activities, among which the cultivation of coffee stands out. Municipality of Santa Bárbara is situated 23 km from the town of Huehuetenango and it’s also traditionally dedicated and known as a coffee growing part of the region. Everytime we visit new regions and farms we get excited but we must admit, visiting Santa Barbara department was overwhelming. The breathtaking views and the potential for the coffee future considering the altitude and climate are mind blowing. Seeing healthy coffee plants at staggering 2260masl filled us with a lot of hope.

We have been lucky to collaborate with Mario Recinos (on the left) who has been working directly with 12 small producers from this particular area. Majority of the producers process coffee at their farm premises as each of the producers has a small area and infrastructure for wet processing. In some cases they might be using their family or neighbor’ depulper to process their coffees like in the case of Augusto Lopez (on the right) who bought his half of a hectare piece of land about 3 years ago and is working towards developing a processing infrastructure. The farms are situated in far rural areas and are around one 0,3 to 1 hectare in size. The majority of the producers involved in our coffee collaboration are part of the MAM indigenous group. Thanks to Mario we are able to communicate and access this distinct group that has its very own and distinct culture and language.

We are extremely excited for our third year of coffee collaboration with this particular department and we aim to develop and promote this young coffee region more and more. The coffees are full of potential and every year they taste better and better. Enjoy the complexity of forest fruit flavors and the full syrupy body. We can’t wait for the upcoming years and we are looking forward to keep you updated on the development of this spectacular region and its coffees.