So tried and true, third generation coffee producer and long time Royal supplier Maximiliano Palacios (Max),
uses the name “Palhu” exclusively for lots selected for Royal, combining the family name Palacios and the department of Huehuetenango.
The heart of La Providencia, Max’s 600 acre estate located in the municipality of San Pedro Necta, is a beautifully maintained mill launching from a highpoint on the sloped property where ripe cherries are placed in water and carried through a series of intricate canals designed to take full advantage of gravity.
The panoramic view of the entire farm from this perch easily pulls one's attention from the cherry flowing past to be depulped. After 36 hours fermenting in a large tile covered tank, the coffee is mechanically washed with a demucilager to reduce water contamination, and then pushed back into a canal where water and gravity join forces again to drag the coffee through long classification channels to separate out less dense beans.
The coffee conveniently falls from the channel onto the patio where the water runs off and the parchment can dry in the sun. Dried parchment is taken to a dry mill in Guatemala City where Servex, another long time partner prepares the coffee for export.
