Guatemala El Colmenar Espresso

Coffee Story
Juan began cultivating coffee at the age of 11 in Volcancito, Guatemala's Santa Rosa region, after his mother passed away. Raised by his brother, he inherited land and received 200 coffee seedlings, which his brother helped him plant and care for. In 2013, Juan joined the “Resistencia” movement to oppose a mining company affecting their territory and became president of the community group "Guardians of Nature," overseeing a collective forest nursery.

His involvement with Café Colis Resistencia stemmed from learning about the coffee export process from the people of Mataquescuintla. They employ an eco-friendly method that requires minimal water and turns byproducts from washing coffee cherries into organic fertilizer. Inspired by this approach, Juan began selling coffee to Canadian buyers and advocating for fair compensation. With support from various organizations, they acquired a coffee depulper that reduces water usage and funded the construction of drying tunnels for producing high-quality coffee for export.

This specific lot of Pache San Ramon cherries is picked when ripe and undergoes a 24-hour anaerobic fermentation in sealed plastic bags. Then they are de-pulped in a dry de-pulper, followed by 36 hours of dry fermentation. Drying is carried out on African beds under direct sunlight for an average of 13 days.