Guatemala Coffee - San Cristobal

The Cobán region tends to be overlooked in specialty coffee purchases, even though it is one of the largest producing regions in the country and is certified as a quality label by the country's official organization Anacafe. Finca Santa Isabel is a 70-hectare estate located in the center of Guatemala, just outside the city of San Cristobal Verapaz. Luis, nicknamed Wicho, has been running this farm in the 1550-meter highlands since 1999. Despite the fact that this region experiences constant humidity and rainfall throughout the year, only the bold and experienced growers can emerge victorious from this somewhat capricious terroir. The challenges are real and extremely complex for the processing and drying of the beans in particular. So much so that Cobán coffee is often stereotyped as heavy, dull, or earthy in the cup. Luis Valdez, however, used his long experience and education to overcome this obstacle, focusing attention on improving cultivation techniques and perfecting the drying practice. He has succeeded in transforming the quality of coffee over the past decade, even managing to earn a spot in Guatemala's Cup of Excellence twice! As a privileged few, you will discover a coffee that puts to wrong all those who thought that a Cobán coffee was lame or simply without exclamation.