Smooth Operator

The Chimaltenango region sits northwest of Antigua and Guatemala City. It is mainly an indigenous population (Kaqchikel dialect). This region gathers mainly small producers who provide cherry to Bella Vista (in Antigua), where the coffee is then wet milled. These small producers typically have a hard time finding a good home for their coffees and this is where Bella Vista comes in. They are able to blend the coffees from many small producers into a larger quantity that is more significant. Each producer on their own is too small to sell their annual coffee production.

These tiny coffee farms have the benefit of young and well kept plantations with varieties that adapt well to their conditions and are known for producing excellent and reliable quality. The farms sit at enviable elevations ranging from 1550m to 1850m - the result is very tasty coffee!

Coffee in Chimaltenango started in the late 1990s so it’s a very new growing region. Bella Vista gets the coffee cherry through two reps who go to the same villages yearly and bring cherry from the small holders of that village back to Antigua. These reps are very important in the chain as they calibrate day to day quality with the small producers and ensure that Bella Vista’s high expectations of picking quality are being met.

We have been buying coffees from these small producers since 2021 and have been very happy with the resulting quality, year after year.

Macho has always been in charge of the fields and the trees have always looked amazing. Over the past four years, Kevin has been dialing in the processing and the quality has reached new heights - over the past couple of years the coffee has been amazing. Here’s more on the backstory.

The Santa Rosa region of Tarrazu is brimming with great coffee potential. The farm elevations are high, the weather promotes slow maturation, even drying and most of the farms have young, healthy trees. The tricky part is converting this potential into a consistently good coffee. This is where Gelbert Naranjo and his father Efrain aka “Macho” separated themselves from the pack. 

Twelve years ago, before the father and son duo started their own processing, Gelbert knew that the farm had incredible potential, but he couldn’t convince his father to invest in mounting their own mill. So, Gelbert used his own savings to purchase all of the processing equipment without Macho’s knowledge and presented it to him, saying, “Here dad, now there is no risk. Let’s do this”. So, in 2011, Macho and Gelbert processed their own coffee for the first time. 

I first visited Macho & Gelbert in December of 2012, and I left inspired and full of optimism. Gelbert cups all of his coffee, looking for indications as to what is working at the farm and the mill. He is relentless about improving; a quality that we look hard to find in a producer. 

In 2019, much to my disappointment and sadness, Gelbert decided to leave the farm to pursue other interests. His brother Kevin took over and is now trying to fill his massive shoes and is working alongside his dad.

Gelbert and Macho introduced a great picking system in 2015 – which is a great example of their innovative approach. Most good producers pay a small premium on the nationally imposed minimum wage. They implemented a system where they pay 35% more than minimum wage and they offer a weekly prize to the cherry picker who picks the lots with the least number of defects. This program has resulted in a great improvement in overall coffee quality and job satisfaction among the pickers. 

This coffee is from one of their family farms called La Obediencia and it impressed me with its balance, sweetness and overall easy drinking nature.

The first year that Kevin took over for Gelbert, I felt the quality dip a bit. After all, Gelbert had a huge impact on their execution of quality. The past two years, though, were a massive surprise to me. I felt the quality at Santa Rosa was the best it has been in recent times. Kevin has been tightening the protocols, both at the farm and at the mill, and was extremely happy to hear I’m enjoying the coffee so much. It’s always a nice happy ending when a farmer makes an effort, and that effort is reflected in the cup. I savour this moment because it doesn’t always work out that way!