Guatemala Baja Verapaz - Francisco Alonso Chiroy Lote Especial #1

Cola, praline, lemon zest

Bag Weight	69 KG BAG
Harvest Season	2024/25
Status	Spot
Lot Number	P613968-1

Carteret, NJ: Out of Stock Bag(s)

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About This Coffee

For the past nine years, Francisco Chiroy has cultivated his farm, Alonzo, with quiet consistency and deep pride. Named after his family surname, the farm is a symbol of Francisco’s commitment to his land, his community, and the future he’s building through coffee. Located in the remote hamlet of Turbala, within Cubulco, Baja Verapaz, the 1.4-hectare farm rises to 1,750 meters and is planted with Catimor and Lempira varieties. Francisco manages the work with the help of hired labor during peak harvest and the ongoing support of his family. For him, coffee means more than income—it means stability, self-sufficiency, and the chance to remain in his home community year-round.

At Alonzo, coffee is processed with resourcefulness and care. After cherries are selectively harvested, they’re pulped using a two-channel machine, with water added to ease the process. The beans are then fermented in sacks for 24 hours, a method suited to the scale and needs of the farm. Once fermentation is complete, beans are washed by hand in large outdoor baths, and wastewater is directed responsibly into a septic tank—a practice not always common in smallholder settings, but one that reflects Francisco’s attention to sustainability.

Country of Origin	Guatemala
Region	Turbala, Cubulco, Baja Verapaz
Producer Type	Single Estate
Farm Name	Alonzo
Processing	Washed
Processing Description	24hr fermentation, sun-dried on patios
Growing Altitude	1750m

Harvest Season	2024/25
Bag Weight	69 KG BAG
Bag Type	Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species	Arabica
Variety	Catimor, Lempira

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.