New Patios, New Potential: Elevating Quality in Tectictan, Huehuetenango
Microlots from Huehuetenango, the famed growing area in Guatemala where Covoya sources many exceptional coffees, are always exciting. But this year’s offerings from Tectitan, a remote region we have specifically identified for its quality potential, are extra special. The lots we are seeing now mark the first harvest that was dried on new concrete patios, built with funding raised in collaboration with several of our customers – a project that came about after a sourcing trip to the area last year.
In May of 2025, after saying goodbye to the larger group that attended the GROW summit in Antigua, myself and a small contingent of customers and colleagues went on to Huehuetenango for more of a traditional sourcing trip. The roasters who joined for this second part of the trip had all sourced single-producer lots from Tectitan farmers in years prior, so this was a chance to get to meet and see the community in person.
To give a sense of the remoteness of this area, getting to Huehuetenango itself from Guatemala City is either a 40 minute plane ride or a 5-hour drive, at least. Tectitan is another 3+ hours from the Huehuetenango city centre, navigating winding rural roads, nearly to the Mexican border. This distance, combined with the ideal conditions for growing coffee, is part of what led Covoya and OFI to identify Tectictan as an area where our efforts could have the greatest impact for producers – the quality was there, but the access to markets was not. OFI Guatemala started sourcing from this area in 2023 and 2024, eventually offering both single producer lots & community lots.
Once we finally arrived in Tecti and introductions were made between roasters and the various producers who had gathered, we took a short walk through the farm of Alfredo Alvaro Ramirez, who then very graciously hosted the entire group for lunch, serving homemade sopa de gallina (chicken soup).
During our visit, producers from the community brought up the topic of processing several times. They knew their trees produced high quality cherry, but they were still drying parchment on tarps or the roof of their houses, making it difficult to perform the regular raking and turning that enables consistent drying and avoiding moisture issues. The remoteness of the region requires most Tectictan producers to process their coffee on their farms, as opposed to selling cherry, and the limited infrastructure available was making it hard to reach the full potential of their coffee.
Byron Holcomb, who manages specialty coffee for us in Guatemala, noted that there’s always a list of community-specific projects like these, all waiting to get funding. Covoya has funded several such initiatives in the past, such as a clinic in Ayarza and a schoolhouse for the children of producers to attend during harvest times.
After too short a time, we said our goodbyes and packed back into pickup trucks to start the long ride back to the hotel. Discussions on the drive back ranged from the beauty of Huehuetenango to how incredible it was to get to meet the producers and their families after being so familiar with their coffees, but soon devolved into the type of silliness that tends to hit travelers at peak exhaustion.
The next day was packed full, visiting the central warehouse in Huehue, cupping fresh crop samples, and doing some brief sightseeing before flying back to Guatemala City. It wasn’t until we had returned home that Alex from Revelstoke Coffee in Concord, New Hampshire gave me a call. “So, what’s up with those patios? Can we just get that going?” he asked.
After a quick call to Byron, a rough budget was created and we started making calls. Roosevelt Coffee from Columbus, Ohio, who was also on the Tectitan trip, jumped in to participate. London, UK-based High Grade Coffee wanted to contribute after their experience attending GROW in Antigua. Within a few months, our team in Guatemala and their non-profit partner Funcafé oversaw the logistics of 22 individual concrete patios for Tectitan producers.
This was my first time being directly involved with a project at a farm or producing community-level, and I was struck at how quickly everything came together. It felt like a decision was made to do it, and it got done. For me, this reinforced the notion that meaningful, yet manageable projects can be accomplished by simply taking the first actionable step.
I was able to cup some early samples of the first patio-dried lots from Tectictan when I returned to Guatemala this past February, and they were absolute standouts on the cupping table. Though always having a wonderful complexity in prior years, we were struck by the emergence of new floral and stone-fruit notes in these new samples. The profiles felt delicate while still being balanced and structured, and to me show clear evidence of the more consistent drying that the patio project has enabled.
To keep the momentum from this project going, we’ll be starting a quarterly meet with our specialty team in Guatemala. Any roasters who purchase not only single producer or community lots, but also our Blue Ayarza or Jabiru regional blends, can join and hear first-hand about harvest updates or projects that are in the works (or completed!). It’s a great way to gain direct insight from origin, ask questions in real time, and build a stronger connection to the social and environmental projects that are happening on the ground.
These Tectican microlots are shipping soon, and we can’t wait until they land. There are very limited quantities available, so please reach out to your trader if you are interested in seeing the pre-ship cupping notes, or if you are just interested in joining the quarterly calls!
