Gatemala Café del Valle
The Farm
Café del Valle is a selection of different lots produced by small-scale farmers from the Jalapa region of Guatemala. This area is renowned for its pine forests, biodiversity, and ideal conditions for coffee cultivation.
The coffee growers in this region work on small plots located between 1,600 and 1,700 meters above sea level, cultivating traditional varieties such as Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, and Pache. Production maintains a strong connection with the natural environment and with cultivation methods deeply rooted in Guatemala’s coffee-growing tradition.
In Jalapa, many producers deliver their coffee cherries to centralized wet mills, where processing is carried out with particular attention to responsible water use and quality control. Thanks to farm-level traceability and the consistency of collective efforts, Café del Valle reflects the sweet and balanced character that is typical of this region.
Process Method
Once the cherries are harvested at their optimal stage of ripeness, they are transported to a wet mill where the lot is processed. The cherries are fed into the pulping machine, where the skin and pulp are removed. The coffee is then transferred to fermentation tanks, in this case without water, for 24 hours to remove the mucilage.
After fermentation, the coffee is moved to drying patios for 7 days. Once this period has passed and the beans have reached 11% moisture content, they are removed from the drying patios to rest before being sent to the hulling mill.
Origin
While coffee arrived in Guatemala in the late 18th century, as was the case with much of the colonies in Central and South America, its cultivation began to gain momentum in the 1860s, with the arrival of European immigrants encouraged by the Guatemalan government to establish plantations.
Coffee seeds and cuttings were distributed as an incentive, as the country’s main export crop (indigo) had recently failed, leaving the population somewhat desperate to find an agricultural replacement. By the end of the 19th century, Guatemala was exporting more than 140 tons of coffee per year. Until 2011, it ranked among the five largest coffee producers in the world, although in recent years it has been surpassed by Honduras.
A large percentage of Guatemala’s population, and therefore also its coffee sector, identifies with one of the more than 20 officially recognized indigenous groups. The majority of farmers are small-scale coffee growers who work independently or are formally affiliated with cooperative associations.
In 1960, coffee growers developed their own trade organization, which has since evolved into Guatemala’s national coffee institute, Anacafé (Asociación Nacional del Café). It serves as a research center, marketing agency, and financial organization that provides loans and support to producers from different regions.
10 € – 40 €
Envío gratuito a partir de 40€ de compra. (Península y Baleares)