Sourcing Details
Lake Atitlan is likely one of the most iconic landmarks in Guatemala. If you take your eye off the shimmering beauty of the lake for a moment, you may notice that the surrounding mountains are home to many small coffee farms that belong to people from the Quiché Mayan communities that encircle Lake Atitlan. Families with farms that average just a few acres in size have partnered with an export company called Los Volcanes to process their harvest.
Processing Details
The Perez family has been able to organize their neighbors in the Pasajquim municipality and deliver cherries to Los Volcanes' centralized wet-mill, which is equipped with environmental controls to return water to the environment free of contamination. This allows each individual producer to focus on investing in farm management throughout the year and then harvesting and delivering the best cherries to the mill, where the cherries are depulped and fermented for 36 to 48 hours, then washed and classified by density in channels of water, and dried to 11 percent moisture on patios in the sun. The result is a consistent community lot with a vibrant regional profile ensuring greater producer earnings.
Exporting Details
Dried parchment is transported to a dry mill in Guatemala City managed by los Volcanes Coffee, which partners with Q’anil to ensure quality control and traceability for the cooperatives coffee. Mild weather in Guatemala City provides ideal conditions for storing parchment in the warehouse until it is time to export. The mill is equipped with multiple pieces of equipment to sort green coffee typical in most dry mills, such as gravity beds, screens and electronic eyes. The centralized processing partnerships between the Pasajquim producers and Los Volcanes has made this traditional Atitlan regional profile shine.
