• • • Producer Villatoro family
    • Attributes Maragogype
    • Origin Hoja Blanca, Cuilco, Huehuetenango, Guatemala
    • Flavours cola, toffee candy, round and panacotta-like texture

This coffee comes from the Villatoro family farm La Esperanza. The farm was founded by Eleodoro de Jesús Villatoro López in 1956, and it has been owned and operated by the Villatoro family ever since.

Our connection here is agricultural engineer Denis Villatoro “fourth generation on my mother’s side and the third generation on my father’s side”. Denis has been working for the family as a roaster and cupper for eight years. During the harvest months (January-June), he works in the cupping laboratory. and from July to December, he’s on the farm, performing agronomic work, new plantings, and preparing the plantations for the new harvests.

THE FARM:

La Esperanza is surrounded by three mountain ranges to the east, north, and south, and, to the west, the mountains of Mexico loom large. This geography creates microclimates that are especially well-suited to the production of specialty coffee, and the mineral-rich soils have good drainage, which is especially important for creating healthy root systems and the coffee trees’ nutrient uptake. The farm is 15 hectares- one of the largest farms that we work with in Guatemala- and they have five varieties of coffee planted: caturra, bourbon, maragogype, SL28, and gesha.Nestled amongst the coffee trees are native shade trees, including grevillea, chalúm, and many citrus fruit trees as well.

PROCESSING

After picking ripe cherries, the Villatoros begin the fermentation process in whole cherries, in sealed GrainPro bags for 32 hours. Native yeasts and bacteria enter through the holes created when the cherries are picked, and begin the process of breaking down the sugars and mucilage around the seeds. From there, the cherries are de-pulped, and then return to sealed GrainPro bags to continue fermenting for an additional 36 hours.From there, the coffee is washed, and carefully dried. The Villatoros use a three stage drying process: 8 days on beds inside a greenhouse, followed by 8 days rest in the warehouse, and another 9 days on the beds to finish.

TRANSPARENCY

We purchase parchment coffee directly from the family, and quetzals are transferred straight to their bank account upon receipt of parchment at facility we engage to process our exports.