Key origin info:

Producer: 43 women producers, members of the A’xola Cooperative based in the Petatan town

Region: Petatán, Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1200 - 1900 masl

Varietals: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí, Pache, Typica and Catimor
Process: Washed and sun-dried on patios

Cup profile: Creamy, milk chocolate & hazelnut

Lentgth of relationship: 3 years (in 2024)

About the Community Espresso range:

Our coffee offering is very much about showcasing delicious in-season coffees whilst sharing the stories of their producers and their incredibly hard work and determination that goes into making it possible to enjoy them in our cups. Sitting nicely next to our trusty House Espresso mainstay from San Lorenzo, our Community Espresso brings in a bit variety and the coffees featured in this slot change 3 times per year.

Featuring coffee from 3 producing countries - Peru, Guatemala and Mexico, we aim to source these coffees from the same groups and communities year after year, whilst putting forward the great work that goes into producing coffee as part of a community within a certain region. Rooted in faith in cooperation, the key element linking all these collectives is the aim to improve livelihoods for their communities through quality coffee production whilst caring for the environment.

These lots are typically composed of coffees processed at each grower's own farms and consolidated together to market and sell under the group's or locality banner.  The coffees contributed are the core of their growers' production and growers will often contribute a considerable portion of their harvest to these lots. Meaning they might not be the absolute highest scoring or the most exclusive but they do reliably meet physical and sensorial quality control and demonstrate distinctive regional flavour profiles. They also account for larger volumes of what we purchase for our offering. And as such they hold huge significance in terms of supporting livelihoods and returning value. As we always strive for our coffee buying to have a positive impact, valuing these coffees appropriately is incredibly important to maximise producers' profits and benefit wider communities.

Our community espresso celebrates the hard work of these producer groups whilst bringing you a flavour profile suited for consistently classy espresso based drinks – black and with milk. Expect a coating creamy body, milk chocolate and just the right amount of subtle fruit notes characteristic of the coffee’s origin to liven up the cup.

We're delighted to welcome this coffee from the A'xola Cooperative back again for the third season running. With its super creamy body, milk chocolate and nutty profile this one is the perfect coffee for our Community Espresso slot. 

More about A’xola Cooperative:

This coffee has been sourced with the help of our importing partner Primavera Coffee whose work in Guatemala focuses on sourcing excellent coffee from independent producers as well as cooperatives, always striving to maximise value for producers, provide support to growing communities and offer full traceability for us as roaster buyers.

The A’xola Cooperative was founded in 1989 with 36 founding members, and has grown to 150 members over the years. They are based in the community of Petatan and work together to market and sell their high quality coffee. The members are both men and women mainly of Mayan Popti heritage and the name A’xola means “ruins around the river” in their indigenous language. As a group they prioritize the participation of women and seek to improve the quality of life of all members of the families who are involved with the group. They also prioritize the environmental and social well- being of the community as part of their mission. Each year the cooperative selects a presidents and during our visit in February 2023 we met with the current leader - Doña Josefa - on the left in the above image with fellow coop members and employees.

The women of the group consolidate their coffees together and market and sell it with the seal “Con Manos de Mujer” or “With a Woman’s Hands.” The cooperative was able to obtain this certification in 2020 through MAYACERT to celebrate the coffees that are produced by women farmers. The cooperative, men and women alike, wanted to acknowledge the role of women in the value chain and reduce the economic risks for women that participate in producing coffee. The work goes beyond coffee production and seeks to improve women’s access to formal education, prevent violence against women, and promote women’s leadership and rights in the community. Of the group’s 150 members, 43 are women that are certified to produce coffee Con Manos de Mujer.

About our export/import 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.”