A Note from the Importer Cole at Forward Coffee:

"This is the 7th year I've purchased coffee from Santa Ana la Huerta. In the past we've had the opportunity to visit the farm. It's about a 3 and a half hour drive from Antigua where we're based during our visits to Guatemala.  Santa Ana is located in a department of Guatemala that's actually not known for its coffee production but mostly for production of turmeric and citrus fruits.

We spent a night at the farm so we had time to see all aspects of production in 2018. Our tour started at the nursery, where Rony, the proprietor, is growing some intriguing new varieties as future prospects. There's Obata, Tupi, Catigua, Yellow Bourbon, Caturra, Costa Rica, Bourbon, Villasarchi, Catimor, Geisha and a few others. Lots to look forward to. Some experimental, some for high yield. Overall, the farm sits at between 1550 and 1650 metres in a long belt like orietation at the top of a mountain. It's interesting how the farm is situated because there isn't much of a shift in altitude, so it's really important for Rony and his team to have varietals of coffee that ripen at different times so the harvest can be staggered throughout the season and not all happen at once! Imagine 110 hectares of coffee trees that all became ripe at the same time, it would be insane to manage and quality wouldn't be possible! This method of staggering allows for a consistent intake of coffee cherries at the mill and an elongated season.

We toured a solid portion of the 110 hectares that are planted with coffee. The farm management is very organized, with a systematic approach to pruning and maintaining their trees. Every year they trim every third row of coffee plants down to one metre and the branches to 20 inches. This allows the tree to keep its energy concentrated to a smaller footprint and focus on rejuvenating it's leaves and cherries. The next year, they do the same to the next row of trees, and this keeps going each year, rotating row by row. It's a great system. It allows the trees to stay healthy, receive optimal sunlight since the neighbouring branches are trimmed back and stay maintained and organized throughout their life span. Pretty ideal situation."