Guatemala Coban Finca Santa Paula

The other side of Guatemala

When looking for a source of Guatemalan coffee, most go to western Guatemala.  But Alta Verapaz, North of Guatemala City and not far from the border of Honduras, has some epic coffee estates.  Finca Santa Paula, located in the municipality of San Pedro Carch, covers 150 acres with 7 distinct plots cultivated with coffee.

Processing Details

Harvesting and processing are all done at Finca Santa Paula. Particular attention is placed on picking ripe fruit, which is measured in brix using a refractometer. Cherries are washed and sorted for density and damage before depulping.  Pulped coffee is fermented for up to 36 hours to break down the mucilage and then washed from the coffee seed.  The wet parchment is pre-dried in mechanical dryers and then placed on raised beds in an enclosed greenhouse and slowly dried to 11 percent moisture content.

Environmental and social responsibility

Water for processing coffee is sourced from rainwater and recirculated for multiple uses throughout the process.  Coffee pulp is transformed into fertilizer for the coffee plants using a worm composting process.  The estate also hosts a primary school with 200 students.