Edges – Personal Reflections on Coffee Life in Guatemala
Guatemala has its edges. Before moving here from Brazil, I only heard two things from friends and family. Coffee people told me it was one of the most beautiful places they have ever visited. Friends asked me if I was crazy to move my wife and baby there.
What I have learned in the last year won’t fit in a blog post, but I can share the highlights.
As you already know Guatemala is blessed with near perfect conditions for Specialty coffee. Substantial rainfall in the right seasons, altitude aplenty, and a selective cherry-picking culture designed for Instagram. Here, the streets aren’t paved in gold or specialty coffee. Many of the streets aren’t actually paved. They are asphalt-ed. The joints are never smooth, and potholes shake the cars as you pass over them. I’ve been in dozens of Ubers with the suspension totally shot. It was like riding in a cart, not a car.
Maybe it is because my dad worked as a hydrologist or maybe because I ride a road bike, but I instinctively look for how water moves off the roads. The drainages for the roads are the most radical I’ve ever seen. Imagine a half-pipe lining major roads. Where the US and even Brazil have little ridges to wake up drivers they are crossing the white line, Guatemala has just open drainages. A few weeks ago, I drove by a police truck that fell into one. Both wheels were sunk into the drainage. There was no chance for the truck to get out.
On my first trip to Huehuetenango in January of 2019 they told me to bring a jacket. I packed the thickest jacket I had. That night we stayed in a town called Todos Santos, which sits at 8000 feet, and it was freezing when we arrived at 10pm. Thankfully my hotel room had two beds because I had to use the comforter from both beds to keep warm.
The next day started at 6am with roosters and sweet watery oatmeal. We started on a long loop that would take most the day. Although coffee doesn’t grow in Todos Santos itself, we did meet a farmer who stored coffee in his bright orange house, and we were able to purchase some of his coffee using our "Olam Direct" app. After an hour and a half driving "downhill" from Todos Santos, I saw my first coffee tree at about 6500 feet.
On our way we picked up a farmer we know who has 8 cuerdas of coffee, which is about an acre, or less than half a hectare. In total contrast to Brazil where I had been living for over 5 years before moving to Guatemala, the coffee here is planted in tiny patches where the terrain allows.
I visited a producer who was depulping his days harvest. The coffee in the washing channel was there from two days prior. It smelled over-fermented to my nose, but maybe that is where the fruity notes come from?
All of these factors, remote regions, extreme altitudes, and rough roads contribute to Guatemala produce many different profiles of coffee.
The people of Guatemala are as diverse as the coffee and the terrain they inhabit. When leaving Guatemala City and heading east towards our cherry mill in Ayarza, you won’t encounter a lot of traditional clothing or languages.
When you drive west from Guatemala City (Guate or La Capital as we call it) every small town is a slight variation from the next. Not only the clothing but also the language changes. In Huehuetenango you can hear languages like Mam and Popquil. When speaking with some producers, local interpreters are needed. You can hear that their accent is not a traditional Chapin (Guatemalan) accent.
I haven’t adjusted to the food here as easily as I did in Minas Gerais Brazil. Tortillas seem to be the major source of calories, always corn but never the same. Though they all contain the same two ingredients (corn meal and water) some are the size of your palm, while others are the size of a small plate. Some are thick, others thin and flexible. There are a couple of soups that I find myself craving, a turkey Ka’kik and chicken Pepian. These soups on a cold night are food for the soul.
When people ask about Guatemala I try to be clear that it’s a complicated country, safer than some places, not as safe as others. Guatemalans speak in this sing song sweet Spanish that often trails off. For the untrained ear it can be difficult to follow. Some of the phrases are awkward and sound nerdy, but I use them every day.
Guatemala is a beautiful place with amazing coffees. The diversity and complexity of the people alone is enough to overwhelm any newcomer. Now that I’m coming up on my one year here, I can tell you this place is growing on me. I don’t know if it is my cycling friends—who are hilarious—and the high mountain passes we ride, or the trick of adding a touch of salt to the tortillas, which makes them so tasty.
I travel a lot to support our Specialty projects in Nicaragua and Mexico. Returning to Guatemala is starting to feel like coming home.
