Farm: Finca La Bendición
Producer: José Constantino Gómez Reyes
Farm size: 35 hectares
Location: Sanguayoba village, Palencia town, Guatemala department, Guatemala
Altitude: 1800 - 2000 m
Average yearly rainfall: 1450 mm
Average temperature: 17C
Soil: Sandy
Cultivated varieties: Pacamara, Catisic, Pache
Processes: Washed and Natural
Awards: 14th place on 2015's Cup of Excellence
The farm was bought in 1930 by my grandparents Vicente Gómez and María Reyes. Back then, it only produced corn and potatoes. They first brought dairy cattle to the farm but our topography is so hilly that many cows met their death at the bottom of the cliffs. They were not like Swiss cows... Fortunately, we don't have that problem with coffee. The farm passed on to my father who started cultivating coffee and he left it to me. We call it La Bendición (The Benediction) because we have always felt blessed by the land. The fertile soil, the high altitude and the mild temperatures have always helped us produce excellent coffees, including an award-winning lot! Harvest is usually delayed here compared to other parts of Guatemala, but we manage to harvest cherries at their peak maturation with 22 or 24 Brix.
We like to work with the Catisic variety, a mixture of Catuaí and Catimor, because the cherries have a lot of sweetness. When we pick them they are past the bright red colour and rather deep winey colour, near purple. We don't spray any herbicides on the farm and use a lot of organic matter, such as chicken and cow manure. We do use some potassium and proteins to help the cherries reach maturation homogeneously and also small doses of foliar nutrients to help with overall health and productivity.
