Day 2 in Guatemala brought our traveling group to the Antigua region in central Guatemala. The very gracious members of the Antigua Coffee Growers Association welcomed us to cup 10 coffees at Finca San Sebastian. The coffees were great examples of the balanced and sweet coffees from Antigua. From there we visited the farm, Finca San Miguel and it's mill, Entre Volcanes. The view was breathtaking from the mill and farm that sit between three volcanoes.
Our visit to Antigua ended with a visit to Pastores Farm. The farm owner, Hans, welcomed our group and gave a fantastic presentation on coffee in Guatemala followed by a tour of his family's farm and mill. Hans also hosted our group in his home where we enjoyed a traditional Guatelmalan dinner and enjoyed the music of a live band.
Day 3 began with a visit to the Acatenango Valley and the farm, La Soledad. Ino, the farm's owner, and his son, Raul, treated us to a tour of their families farm and micro mill as well as another traditional Guatemalan lunch. We were also able to enjoy coffee fresh from this year's harvest. I tasted a pacamara variety that was so smooth and chocolatey - one of the best coffees of the trip so far! Ino and his family produce 3 containers of coffee every year (approximately 150,000 lbs). Because their coffee is such high quality, they've already sold this year's crop...even before the harvest is complete!
From Acatengo, we headed south to the Atitlan region and a visit to a coffee cooperative in San Juan de Lago. The cooperative is made up of 116 small producers attempting to move more towards 100% organic farming practices. It was a very nice visit.
Tomorrow we are off to the north to visit the Huehuetenango Highlands...there is a five hour bus ride in my future!! I've include a few pictures. The first is a volacano in Antigua named Fuego. The second is a picture of me attempting to help rake coffee in the drying patio at Entre Volcanes.
Volcano Fuego
Raking Coffee in the Drying Patio