Feature Filter: Catarina Ramirez | Guatemala

About Catarina & her coffee:

This exceptional single farm lot was produced by Catarina at her family farm, Yinta Witz. Catarina is a first generation producer based near the town Concepción Huista in the Huehuetenango region. Catarina is also a member of the Sendero cooperative which provides support to producers in the area, focusing on promoting gender equality and supporting young producers. Yanta Witz means “front of the mountain” in the local Popti Mayan language.

Returning for the second year running, Catarina’s coffee is impressing us just as much as it did last year! Once again, it’s one of the best washed Guatemalan coffees we’ve had the pleasure of tasting. Bright, juicy, sweet and straight up delicious!

About El Sendero Cooperative

Cooperative El Sendero is based in the town of Concepcion Huista in Huehuetenango. The organisation was established as savings & loans and commercialisation of coffee cooperative. In November 2022 it had 196 members of which 62 are women and we understand the number of members has grown since then. Aside from technical and agronomy assistance for producers, the social purpose of the cooperative is to improve the living standards of its members through various programmes, projects and activities. For example the coop promotes savings and guarantees pledges and mortgages as well as provision other services depending on the members particular needs. Overall, fostering an atmosphere of collective empowerment and trust within the community.

Even though the individual producers are member of this cooperative, thanks to the high level of organisation and skill of the leaders of the coop, their coffees are sold separately (according to the quality levels and cup scores) thus maximising the value for each producers as per the quality of their coffee. Furthermore, even though Primavera pays producers directly for their coffee they also pay a premium for the fact that they belong to the cooperative which bring many benefits to the area.

During our visit in February 2023, we had the privilege of meeting with two of the leaders of El Sendero in their newly built warehouse in Concepcion Huista. Don Pablo Vasquez “El Gerente” or the president of the cooperative and Diego Cordonna QC manager and Don Pablo’s right hand man explained more about how the cooperative works and the services it provides to its members.

About our exporter partner in Guatemala - Primavera Coffee:

Coffee production in Huehue is dominated by small producers whose farms are often based in very remote areas. The remote location requires that the majority of producers process and dry their own coffees. Their farm set up usually includes a small wet mill equipped with de-pulper and fermentation tank for washed processing, and concrete patios for drying. Being in charge of their own harvest and processing allows quality focused producers to be in control of the procedures and harness the best of their coffee's potential.

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.”