Origin: Casillas, Santa Rosa, Guatemala

Farm: Los Flores

Producer: Jaime Sanchez & Family

Process: Natural

Varieties: Marsellesa

Elevation: 1885masl

Importer: Semilla with export partners Cafe Colis Resistencia

Roast: Medium

Notes: Cherry, Vanilla Cake, Almond Paste, Cocoa

Jaime Sanchez & Family, Casillas, Guatemala

We're so pleased to have Jaime returning to the menu for a second year in a row. One of our favourite coffees to bring in, and the backbone of our Holiday Blend. We made sure to have enough of his coffee this year to run on it's own, as it's one of the tastiest Guatemalan coffees we've ever had!

Coming from an agricultural family, Jaime has been surrounded by farming his entire life. His father, Fernando, who played an equal role in producing this lot has been farming his entire life, but in 1995 decided to focus mainly on growing coffee, and since then majority of their family income has come through coffee production.

In the year 2000, Jaime graduated as an agricultural engineer and returned to the farm to support their coffee farming, growing their productivity by implementing soil conservation techniques, managing the water sources and biodiversity and in promoting sustainable agriculture by diminishing the use of pesticides, increasing shade use, and integrating crops like banana, macadamia, and avocado. Still, in these times they would continue to sell their cherries to the local co-operatives or intermediaries for cash in hand, rather than investing in post-harvest processing techniques.

However, in 2017, Jaime’s son (also named Fernando), purchased an ecopulper to begin the first stages of processing their coffee themselves. They sent different lots for cupping at local laboratories and received good responses, all of which motivated them to push forward to improve both their harvest and post-harvest techniques to achieve the highest quality coffee possible.

Despite that effort, they still struggled to gain access to the international market, being left to sell locally. Now working with Semilla, Jaime is selling coffee under his own name internationally for the second year in the row. We're stoked to be a part of that journey, and plan to continue purchasing his coffee for years to come!

As Jaime writes:

“We must search for clients who pay us well for our coffees so that we can generate profits, now that the effects of climate change, the attacks of coffee diseases and the high costs of production mean that in main harvests, we’re left stranded”

Natural Marsellesa

Processing details: The Sanchez family uses a device to measure brix degrees so they can collect the cherries that are destined for natural coffee at an overripe stage. The cherries are then floated to sort defects and put to dry on raised beds for 18 to 20 days, intermittently piling the coffee to ensure even drying.

In the cup we find this coffee very rich and sweet, with deep cherry notes, vanilla cake, almond paste, and rich cocoa. It does excellently as a filter or espresso!

This coffee was previously a part of our Holiday blend, so we don't have a ton left! So make sure to pick-up a bag before it's gone!

Happy Sippin'