Feature Espresso: Denin de Leon | Guatemala

About Denin de Leon & Primavera Coffee:

Denin is a second generation coffee grower and his farm El Bordo is located near the town San Antonio Huista in the Huehuetenango highlands region. Denin inherited this 3 hectare farm from his farther who previously started producing coffee there. Denin is now proud to be improving his land and passing coffee production knowledge onto the next generation.

Throughout the year Denin and his family work hard to maintain the land. There are many things to do such as managing shade trees, controlling pests and diseases such as leaf rust and Ojo de Gallo (Rooster’s Eye), both fungus diseases, and fertilizing the farm. Then, at harvest time there are 3 rounds of selective picking (only ripe cherries are picked). The cherries are pulped on the same day of harvesting, then fermented for approximately 48 hours (depending on the weather conditions), washed with clean water and sun-dried on patios.

And the result? Deliciously sweet and clean cup with heaps of toffee and soft fruity acidity. A fantastic example of a Huehuetenango cup profile.

About Primavera Coffee:

As with all of our coffee from Guatemala this lot has been sourced with the help of our friends from Primavera Coffee. Primavera are a Guatemala based exporter as well as an importer here in the UK. Headed up by Nadine Rash Primavera Coffee are a company built on values of quality, transparency and sustainability. Having operations in Guatemala, Primavera are not only able to work directly with small producers and cooperative, they also employ local agronomists who are able to provide vital support in the fields such as technical advice on farming, fermentation and post-harvest processing practices.

Always striving to optimise value for producers, Primavera operates with fair margins to cover their costs and logistics. As they explain: “Sourcing directly from the coffee growers shortens the supply chain, allowing us to give them more of the financial benefits for their coffee. Not only is the price fairer for the producer, this form of direct trade allows farmers to be recognized for superior quality, efforts and enthusiasm.”