Guatemala - Santa Isabel Estate

Origine: Alta Verapaz, Cobán, Guatemala      
Variety: Caturra
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1,400 - 1,600 MASL
Farm Owner: Valdés Family

Santa Isabel is a fifth-generation family farm, comprising 300 hectares in the beautiful and rugged region of Alta Verapaz: a unique growing region in Guatemala that has remarkable mountains, a cool climate and plenty of rainfall, as well as dense rainforest and impressive flora. Founded in 1875, the farm is today owned by Luis Valdés Sr and managed by his son, who is also called Luis—or, to his friends and family, “Wicho”.

Wicho grew up watching and helping his father on the farm and fell in love with coffee from a very young age. After school, he went on to study agriculture, before returning to work at Santa Isabel in 1998. Wicho’s passion and love for the farm is evident as soon as you meet him. As explained very simply to us on our most recent visit, “We love it here.” 

The Valdés family care deeply about preserving their natural environment, and have dedicated nearly one-third of their farm (88 hectares) to a natural forest reserve—made up of cedar, pine and mahogany trees—which helps protect natural water resources and encourage biodiversity, providing a habitat for local animal and birdlife. Wicho also grows macadamia nut trees on the farm, which he harvests, mills and sells.

The remaining 200 hectares of the farm at Santa Isabel is dedicated to coffee production and is planted with a wide range of varieties. Native inga trees are planted throughout the plantation to provide shade for the coffee trees and help enrich the soil by providing a healthy cover of foliage. The estate’s nursery currently has over 18,000 seedlings of seven different varieties, including Marsellesa, SL28, Gesha and Java.Wicho adopts a systematic approach to pruning, to optimise ventilation and light (and reduce excess humidity), which minimises fungal disease (including leaf rust) and, in turn, the need for treatment applications.

Since late 2021, the team at Santa Isabel have been actively working to reduce the amount of chemicals and non-organic materials used on the farm. In pursuit of this, Wicho has set up a lab at the farm, and has a full-time employee dedicated to harvesting microorganisms that, when used in a solution made with other organic compounds like cow manure and coffee cherry pulp, helps to make the coffee plants more naturally resistant to disease and insects. The results from this progressive approach have been incredible; Wicho no longer uses any pesticides on the farm and has already reduced his use of fungicides to more than half. The trees are also healthier and happier, and Wicho expects the quality to improve even more in the coming years. As he explained on our last visit, “instead of investing more in medicine, we want to invest more in nutrition.” So far, the plan is working, as trees have become more resistant to the effects of the roya fungus, with only around ten percent of the trees showing signs of infection during the 2024 harvest (down from 2023’s 30%).

HOW THIS COFFEE WAS PROCESSED

Within hours of being picked, the cherries are transported by foot or tractor to Santa Isabel’s wet mill (located on the farm) where they are sorted through a mechanical siphon and graded by weight. They are pulped immediately and then fermented for up to 17 hours, and then passed through a “washer” to remove any remaining fruit. The coffee is then passed through channels and graded by weight, and then soaked in clean water for 24 hours. It is then dried in the sun for 10–15 days until it reaches 30% humidity and is then transferred to a greenhouse to finish drying on raised beds. Their aim is to dry coffee slowly and consistently, with an ideal 5% drop in humidity per day, until humidity is 11%.