Guatemala Lote Especial - Chichupak

Blood orange, apricot, plum, bright, sweet
TOP LOT
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Bag Weight 69 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2023/24
Status Spot
Lot Number P612215-1
  • 43 Bag(s)
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About This Coffee

This lot comes from the Rabinal Coop in Chichupak. The community is only 100 kilometers from the region's capital but it is not easy to reach, as it sits at the top of one of the highest peaks in the department of Baja Verapaz. You must pass through several villages, traveling on dirt roads, but once there, you are immersed in a different and magical world.

Chichupak members are very close to each other - most of them know each other for their entire lives. Faustín Chen is the leader, and together with Mario Sic, president of the association, works very hard to increase the quality of the production and as a consequence achieve better incomes. The community lives from their agriculture products; there are many small subsistence farms in the region. Coffee is one of their most important cash crops and their connection with the outside world.

The coffee production in the community is very traditional, but conducted with great care. Once the coffee is picked they take their coffee cherry to the coop's mill where every member can access to depulpers, fermentation tanks, wash channels, African beds driers, and patios.

Country of Origin Guatemala
Region Chichupak, Coban
Producer Type Cooperative
Farm Name Various smallholders
Processing Washed
Processing Description Overnight fermentation, dried on raised beds & patios
Growing Altitude 1600m - 2000m
Harvest Season 2023/24
Bag Weight 69 KG BAG
Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species Arabica
Variety Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra

History of Coffee in Guatemala

Although coffee was brought over from the Caribbean in the mid-18th century by Jesuit priests, it was used primarily as an ornamental plant and garden crop for 100 years in Guatemala. Coffee wasn’t widely traded, however, until commercial production began in the 1850s. The volcanic soil and various micro-climates proved ideal for growing coffee in Guatemala. Coffee, within a generation, became the country’s most important crop. In 1860, Guatemala exported 140,000 pounds of coffee, and just 25 years later, the country was exporting over 40 million pounds. Large numbers of coffee farmers were German immigrants responsible for many inventions and innovations related to coffee milling. Most of Guatemala’s coffee was exported to Germany until the First World War, when exports shifted to the United States.

Growing Coffee in Guatemala

Coffee farming practices are similar to other countries in the region, but Guatemala has an abundance of water, volcanic soil, and very distinct micro-climates compared to its neighbors. Although late to coffee, Guatemala recognized and responded to the needs of the emerging specialty coffee sector earlier than most coffee-producing regions. Anacafé, the coffee producers association in Guatemala, identifies seven growing regions: Fraijanes, the plateau south of Guatemala City; Coban, a rainforest region in the center of the country; Huehuetenango, highlands near the border with Mexico; Atitlan, primarily the volcanic mountains on the Pacific side of Lake Atitlan; San Marcos, between Huehuetenango and the Pacific Ocean; Oriente, the driest of the growing regions located near the eastern border with Honduras; and the most famous of all, Antigua, nestled among the volcanoes an hour’s drive southwest of Guatemala City.

  • Region Chichupak, Coban
  • Farm Name Various smallholders
  • Producer Type Cooperative
  • Processing Washed
  • Processing Description Overnight fermentation, dried on raised beds & patios
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra
  • Min Growing Altitude 1600m
  • Max Growing Altitude 2000m
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot Yes
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade GTM CA WA SHB
  • CTRM Contract Number P612215-1
  • Country of Origin Guatemala
  • Warehouse The Annex CA