What can you find among the volcanoes?

Project: Entre Volcanes

' Entre Volcanes', as our latest acquisition from Guatemala is called, is a special project that started in 1990. This project focuses on supporting local small specialty coffee farmers in Guatemala.

About 500 small farmers are involved and the project was developed by the Falla family. Today it is jointly owned by this family and the partner of our purchasing partner (The Coffee Quest), in Antigua called San Miguel Mill.

They both also have a background as coffee producers and decided years ago that they wanted to help small farmers.

Because of their background, they also know about the challenges local farmers face, so they know exactly where they can support.

The coffee

If you are wondering what the title of this blog refers to; 'entre volcanes' means 'between the volcanoes', in Spanish, the language they speak in Guatemala.

This new addition to our freshly roasted coffee beans category consists of two types of coffee beans : Bourbon and Caturra (both of which are Arabica varieties). The coffee plants grow under the shade of trees at an altitude between 1500 and 1700 meters.

San Miguel Mill in Antigua is a coffee processing station, so all small farmers bring their harvest to this central point. Here they are processed on location.

The berries are washed and fermented (approximately 18 hours), after which they are dried on drying beds and by means of mechanical dryers.

The result is a beautifully balanced coffee that scores medium on acidity, sweetness and body. The taste can be described as a nice balance between chocolate and caramel-like tones and red apple with a hint of citrus. Not too crazy, but a beautiful espresso!

Challenges and the planet

At the beginning I mentioned that the managers of this project know what challenges there are. Naturally, this challenge is mainly about receiving fair prices for the right quality and preventing labor exploitation.

The organization is only too happy to help them with that, and we, as a roaster, naturally support these kinds of projects with full conviction. If you have never been there, Guatemala really has a beautiful nature.

The goal of Entre Volcanes is therefore to establish a sustainable coffee production in addition to preserving this beautiful nature.

Enthusiastic? Quick taste :-). View Entre Volcanes coffee here