Hey Coffee Connoisseurs,
Have you ever been to Central America? The people are friendly and welcoming, the coffee is always delicious, the landscapes are unforgettable and the food is stunning!
We have always loved coffees from Central America, and Guatemala in particular always has some of our favorite coffees.
After many years we have learned the best way to connect with farmers is to actually visit them! It sounds so simple but it's absolutely true. In fact, we just recently returned from our trip to Guatemala and we can't wait to share all of the incredible coffee we tasted from some outstanding farmers.
In Guatemala the climate crisis is changing the way coffee grows, and the blights the coffee plant is vulnerable to. Coffee rust and other diseases can make coffee growing a risky proposition, sometimes afflicting the crops so badly that there are near total losses. Also, the disease resistant coffee varieties currently available to growers in Central America produce coffees that don't taste as good, and are not as drought resistant.
Enter our superstar producer, Josue Morales: pictured above. The mastermind behind our "Farms of Antigua" and many other coffees we share with you in Eugene. Josue is pioneering organic, living soil growing processes, and heavily investing into cloning new coffee varieties that taste phenomenal, can withstand droughts, and are strongly disease resistant.
We learn all of this because of the farms and farmers we visited. Josue and his team offer advice, farm management, and direct proof of their techniques from their experimental farm in Antigua to anyone who wants to work with them.
Josue's techniques have been paying off in a big way. As conventional fertilizers and pest control increase in price, Josue's living soil methods cost less. When older plants become susceptible to disease, Josue's newer varieties are able to resist blights.
One farm that we visited was Patzibir. Josue gave us his grand tour of one of his showcase farms.
Visiting Patzibir was more akin to walking through a forest than visiting a productive coffee farm.
A massive swiss cheese monstera greeted us at the gate, and copious amounts of forest canopy trees shaded the area, protecting the coffee, and sharing essential nutrients with the coffee through the living mycelium in the soil that Josue has worked so hard to preserve and nourish.
We will have coffee from Patzibir and a few other progressive farms in Guatemala, later this year.
As you can see, there's a whole lot that goes on long before we are roasting the coffee in Eugene, and connecting with the people and land that makes our work possible is deeply rewarding for us. We are very grateful for our opportunity to support their important work!
One important thing to note about Guatemala is the amount of active volcanoes! Fuego is a volcano near Antigua once worshiped and respected as a diety. Fuego constantly ejects plumes of smoke and ash, releasing the dangerous pressure building below.
Mark and Joe also respect the natural beauty and history of this volcano, and were never intimidated or scared. Not even once.
If you want to experience a taste of Guatemala, why not give our "Farms of Antigua" a try? This coffee has floral and honeycomb notes, followed with a delicate cocoa finish that always reminds us of our colleagues in Guatemala, and the many producers we met there. It's one of our top sellers because it's approachable, and nuanced with a lot of layers to uncover.
Stay tuned for much more about Guatemalan coffees as they land later this year, and even more from our trip in upcoming newsletters.
Stay Caffeinated,
Mark, Joe, and the rest of the Farmers Union Coffee Roasters
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