Sure Thing

This lot is a blend from a number of small producers that live on the slopes of the Volcan de Agua and the Acatenango volcanoes. Two of the three massive volcanoes that surround Antigua, Guatemala. These volcanoes provide excellent coffee growing conditions, and are home to hundreds of small coffee producers. This lot is a blend of a number of these small producers, some of whom produce as little as a few bags of green coffee per year! Each of these lots was carefully processed by Luis Pedro Zelaya at his mill Bella Vista.

Each of the producers involved in this blend were selected for the quality of coffee that they produce. The program is called Hunapu, and in addition to buying coffee cherry at good prices, Luis Pedro improved Hunapu to better support these producers. He has helped them improve their farming practices and access to fertilizer. Additionally, each lot of coffee cherry that is delivered is inspected and scored according to the percentage of ripe cherries. This provides a financial incentive to improve picking.

Slight detour… Hunapu is the indigenous name for the sacred and ominous Volcán de Agua so when Luis Pedro was looking for a name for these coffees, the name Hunapu seemed like a perfect fit.

OK, back to the coffee. Once the cherry has been received, Luis Pedro’s team ferments, washes, and dries the coffee. We love working with Luis Pedro! He is a real gentleman and he is also committed to improving the quality of all the coffees that he processes. He is always keen to try new things that might improve the quality, efficiency or consistency of the coffee that he processes. 

Back in 2015, we worked with Luis Pedro to make sure all the lots of coffee were dried to the right end-point and stored in GrainPro bags to prevent further changes to present moisture. Because of this initiative, the water activity and moisture of all the coffees from Volcan de Agua fell nicely within the safe range. The coffees tasted amazing in Guatemala and arrived tasting just as delicious in Calgary. Now, these have become normal practices for Luis Pedro, just one of many initiatives that have helped propel quality.

These producers are often too small to have direct relationships with roasters, but by working through Luis Pedro it is possible to have a positive impact. We are excited to continue buying from them, and will be working closely with Luis Pedro to focus on some of the quality-minded producers in this region. Meanwhile, we all get to enjoy this delicious coffee.