Guatemala Guacamaya - Caturra, Washed

Tastes Like: Honeydew Melon, Papaya, Nutty

Producer: Nery Pablo López
Farm: Guacamaya
Department: Huehuetenango
Municipality: Concepción Huista
Town: Ajul
Variety: Caturra
Altitude: 1900 MASL
Farm Size: 4.2 Hectares
Process: Washed

This coffee was produced by second-generation farmer Nery Pablo López at his farm Guacamaya. Located at 1,900m above sea level, Guacamaya is nestled in the hills that surround the small town of Ajul, in the municipality of Concepción Huista, in the state of Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Nery has lived in Concepción Huista his whole life, and has been involved in coffee production from a very young age. He inherited the land Guacamaya sits on when he was only twenty years old, after being established as a coffee farm by his dad Lauriano Pablo. When he first took over the property, Nery noticed a guacamaya (a type of local macaw bird commonly found in the region) frequented his parcel of land, and decided to name the farm after it. While his dad still helps with the milling and drying of the coffee produced, Nery is in charge of operations. In the years since he has owned Guacamaya, he has been able to expand it to just over four hectares in size, and has acquired a plot at lower elevations where he farms coffee for the commercial market.

Today, Nery lives a few kilometres away from Guacamaya with his parents, three sisters, wife Victoria and two young daughters. Together, they also grow beans and maize that the family sell through the El Sendero Cooperative. The Pablos have benefited greatly from joining the co-op, as their crop has improved in quality and volume since becoming members three years ago. Not only is the family earning a better income, but they have developed a genuine sense of connection and trust with the cooperative and the buyers they work with. This was really evident when we first visited Guacamaya in early 2024, as an excited Nery told us, “We care about coffee because we get to meet you, we get to meet the people who drink our coffee. Because of this visit, I know things are done right by the co-op.”

Like most farmers in the region, Nery benefits from abundant freshwater, thanks to the local Rio Azul (Blue River) and its tributaries. All coffee at Guacamaya is grown under the shade of Chalum trees (a local variety of Inga) and Gravilea, though the amount of shade needs to be managed carefully every year due to Huehue’s humid, temperate climate. The coffee, beans and maize Nery grows are also intercropped with other fruit trees like avocados, lemons, oranges, and peaches.

Guacamaya is mainly planted with the traditional Red Bourbon and Yellow Caturra varieties, with Pache introduced in more recent years. This lot is 100% Caturra. Nery farms with traditional techniques and organic practices, as is common in the region. Coffee pulp is recycled and dried to be used as fertiliser, and sedimentary tanks are employed to treat the water used during processing. All weeding is done manually, and few chemical pesticides or fertilisers are utilised—though fungicide is applied before flowering, to prevent roya outbreaks. The coffee is selectively hand-harvested, with most labour being provided by Nery and his family.