New Release - Guatemala La Providencia
La Providencia has been a family treasure for the Palacios clan since the 1950s, passing through three generations. Today, it's run by Max Ariel Palacios Villatoro, who’s been on the farm since 1975.
This beautiful spot covers 220 hectares and sits high up at 1,550–1,950 meters above sea level. The steep and uneven landscape makes harvesting quite a challenge, so all the coffee is picked by hand. Each year, a team of 100-250 local workers joins the farm for the season, which runs from December to April. They make at least four rounds through the fields to pick only the ripest cherries.
With plenty of springs around, La Providencia has great water access for processing and irrigation. However, the steep slopes mean they have to be super careful with fertilizing the clay loam soil to prevent erosion. That’s why they’ve planted native Chalum shade trees throughout the plantation, and almost a third of the farm is dedicated to native forest, which helps keep the soil in place and supports local wildlife.
Baurillo Grande has been managing the farm for 35 years and grew up in a village just up the hill. Meanwhile, Max, now in his 80s, oversees everything from admin to farming. With over 40 years of experience, he’s not only dedicated but also really passionate about the land. He’s currently mentoring his kids, Ana Lucia and Javier, who are already getting hands-on experience in running the farm, ensuring the family legacy continues.
Huehuetenango, or just HueHue as most people call it, is a beautiful spot in western Guatemala, right by the Mexico border. It’s famous for the Cuchumatanes mountain range, the tallest non-volcanic mountains in Central America. Plus, it's super diverse, home to various groups like the Mam, Q’anjob’al, Chun, and Jakalteko. Before the Spanish came along, the area was known as Xinabajul, which means "between ravines" in the Mam language—a nod to all the cliffs and steep hills around. The biggest city back then was Zaculeu, located just outside of modern HueHue City, which means "white earth," and you can still check out the ruins today!
Huehuetenango is huge and has all kinds of terrain that’s great for different types of farming, depending on how high you go. In the lower areas, corn is the go-to crop, but as you climb up, coffee takes over, and you’ll find local pine trees all around. The coffee from HueHue is some of the best in Guatemala—it's often featured in the top ten of the Cup of Excellence competition. This is largely because coffee thrives at really high elevations, sometimes up to 2,000 meters.
The dry, warm winds from Mexico’s Tehuantepec plain keep the frost away, making it perfect for coffee. Plus, with a pretty stable climate, the coffee quality is top-notch. At even higher altitudes, above 2,100 meters, the land gets dry and rocky, so farmers there usually focus on growing potatoes and raising sheep, goats, and llamas.
ABOUT THE COFFEE
At the end of the day, all the workers bring their carefully picked coffee to the awesome wet mill right in the middle of the farm. This mill is designed to make the most of gravity, starting at a high point on the steep land and using water to move the coffee through the pulping process via a bunch of cool canals down to the drying patios below.
After that, the coffee ferments for about 30 to 32 hours. Once that’s done, the beans are hand-sorted and weighed, then processed using Penagos Eco-Pulpers, which help cut down on water use and waste. After pulping, the coffee goes through another wash to get rid of any leftover mucilage. Next, it’s graded by weight in long channels and carefully dried—first on the farm's super clean patios for at least eight hours, then in Guardiola dryers for another 24 to 26 hours. Throughout it all, Max makes sure to recycle all the organic by-products and keep the water clean, so the local waterways stay pristine and pollution-free.
