Lote Colectivo, Finca San Rafael
Updated - 1/31/2023
Lot Info:
Producer(s):
Finca San Rafael
Producers: Gerson Adoni Martinez Villatoro, Arnulfo Gómez, Fidelio Sales, Everardo Sales, Bernabe López, Alexander Gómez, Julia López.
Region:
Hoja Blanca, Huehuetenango
Process:
Fully Washed, Dry Fermentation, Solar Dried, 15+ European Preparation
Elevation & Varietals
+1,500m (Varietals)
Cupping Notes:
Pomegranate, Strawberry Sweetness, Red Fruit Medley, Ripe Blueberry
Availability:
158 - (69KG) Bags Houston Dupuy
Ripe Timing: 7 Families in Hoja Blanca.
Lote Colectivo lots are among my favorite lots for a couple of reasons. Sure, micro-lots are fun, wild, and super cool to display the possibilities of what coffee can taste like; but when it comes to our sourcing passions, Lote Colectivos are where our heart lies.
This lot comes from 7 families in the Hoja Blanca region alongside some of Don Gerson’s coffees. What I enjoy most about Lote Colectivo lots is that they’re inclusive lots enabling surrounding communities to benefit meanwhile producing a coffee that fits that classic Guatemalan profile we all love!
In our minds, it’s a beautiful balance where both community impact and quality coffee meet together. We love getting to work with farms in a way that’s investing in them individually and in their relationships with the surrounding community. Don Gerson stated, “It’s an honor to be able to process their coffees and extend out to them a better market outlet as a result of our relationship with COI.”
Why Ripe Timing?
Lots of political and C-market changes have been happening in Guatemala as of late. Now that Brazil has recovered from its frost, supply levels are up which means C-market pricing has begun to tank. Without better market outlets, C-market pricing is often the only option most producers are given. With high fertilizer costs and labor shortages, this places producers in Hoja Blanca in a scary position. Additionally, one of Guatemala’s largest exporters just fell apart which places the local wet mill in Hoja Blanca in an even more difficult spot.
This Lote Colectivo might therefore be a safe haven and provide producers in Hoja Blanca a way out of being locked into C-market pricing for genuinely higher quality coffees! Due to the support, we see from our roasters, we love that we get to play a small role in providing more and better opportunities for local smallholder producers. We look forward to revisiting Hoja Blanca later this year and to continue learning where we can come up underneath to support while continuing to build mutually beneficial relationships with producers and roasters in mind.
In short, it looks like we started buying in just the Ripe Timing!
Reach out if you’d like to learn more!
