Guatemala Bella Vista
The Farm
Luís Pedro Zelaya Zamora is the fourth generation of his family to work in coffee. Their first farm was Carmona, another of the big names in coffee in Antigua and which at Cafés el Magnífico we have roasted in previous seasons. In 1995 they acquired Bella Vista where they have the wet and dry mill that processes different coffees from the family as well as from different coffee growers in the area who do not have their own mill in addition to the offices of their export company Zelcafé.
For decades this family business was dedicated to the commercial coffee business but in 2000 Luís Pedro began to develop and change the farm’s focus towards specialty coffee and the microlot process with the support of some of his first roaster clients. Over time, Bella Vista has successfully transformed itself into a farm that focuses exclusively on specialty coffee with the intention of providing a good foundation for the prosperity of future generations of its family and community. With this in mind, the Bella Vista team is constantly looking for ways to provide employment to as many families as possible in the surrounding communities.
Under the gaze of the imposing Agua and Fuego volcanoes, the farm has 70 hectares of coffee plantations with varieties such as: Villasarchí, Bourbon, Caturra and Geisha, all of them of great quality in the cup. The farms are completely replanted every 30 years, with the first replanting cycle after the first 7 years and every year thereafter. As in so many other farms, the great challenges for Bell Vista are the Rust disease and the drought caused by climate change. At this moment they are planting a 3 hectare plot with a new strain of Bourbon that is smaller in size and therefore facilitates harvesting and has a better cup profile.
On the other hand, they have considerable training in modern agronomy and manage many farms that the owners do not want to sell but do not know or want to manage either.
Process
Once the cherries are picked at their optimal point of ripeness, the coffee is taken to Bella Vista for processing. The cherries go to a reception tank where the empty and floating cherries are removed and the healthy ones are separated into batches (harvest day, variety, altitude…). Afterwards, they are passed to the pulper to remove skin and pulp and then taken to the fermentation tanks for 14/15 hours to remove the mucilage. The parchment coffee is rinsed with clean water and taken to a mechanical washer before being dried.
Coffee can be dried in the sun in patios for 12 to 16 days or in a greenhouse. This allows the coffee to be dried in a controlled environment and gradually, resulting in a better cup. The airflow allows for a more uniform drying process and coffee beans can be easily sorted by hand.
After resting in the cellars for thirty days, the coffee goes through the dry mill where the parchment is removed, and with the classifiers it is separated into three grades: A, B and C, repeating this process up to 7 times to ensure a homogeneous classification. Finally, the golden grain placed in bags is ready for export.
Origin
Antigua region is rich in volcanic soils, with low humidity, a lot of sun and cool nights. This valley is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. Occasionally, Fuego, one of the three active volcanoes in Guatemala – adds a fine layer of ashes, rich in minerals to the Antiguan soil. This volcanic pumice holds back moisture in the soil and this helps to compensate the shortage of rain in the area. Shade is especially dense to protect the coffee trees from the occasional freezing in the region.
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