Joyabaj is a coffee-growing area still to be discovered by international buyers. Located in the Eastern part of El Quiché next to the borders with the departments of Baja Verapaz and Chimaltenango, Joyabaj is a small town surrounded by high peaks: Junajpu, Xiquilin, Potosi, Las Burras, Chichicaste and the Sierra de Chuacús.
The coffee from smallholders in this area is normally bought by intermediaries and transported to wet mills in Antigua. Then, it is blended and exported under this denomination despite the 80km distance between them. FECCEG invested in a wet mill in Joyabaj in order to create an identity for the local communities and to directly market the speciality coffees of the area, promoting the identity and culture of each community of producers.
2020 was the first year of operation of the wet mill and the project was received with novelty and appreciation for the investment of this system of buying and processing coffee closer to communities that have not had the opportunity to learn about the coffee chain. The majority of local producers have only 2 hectares of land dedicated to coffee in the communities of Xeabaj and Joyabaj.
This coffee is farmed organically without any chemical inputs and can be described as "wild" or "natural".
