Familia Jimenez - Guatemala
COUNTRY: Guatemala
FARM/COOP/STATION: Finca Familia Jimenez
VARIETAL: Bourbon
PROCESSING:Fully washed
ALTITUDE:1600 - 1800 masl
OWNER: Pascual Jimenez & Lorena Jimenez
SUBREGION/TOWN: Buena Vista, Michicoy
REGION: Huehuetenango
FARM SIZE: 20 hectares
HARVEST MONTHS: November - April
FLAVOUR NOTES: bright with citrus and rounded off with a dark chocolate sweetness.
ABOUT THIS COFFEE
Pascual Jimenez is a second-generation coffee producer with a long family history in Buena Vista. Pascual is a Mayan chief of a special committee of local Mayan people in his village. He is well known by the residents and respected for his wisdom. Today, Pascual farms Finca Familia Jimenez with his sons and his daughter-in-law. Pascual was the first coffee farmer in San Pedro Necta to work with Rosma Coffeelands and begin exporting his coffee through them.
HARVEST
Cherry is hand-picked and pulped on a drum pulper. Coffee is dry fermented in a tank for 40 hours before being washed in clean water and sent through a grading channel that separates parchment by density. Parchment is laid to dry. For the first 2 days, parchment is laid in a very thin layer and raked frequently to ensure even drying. After the 2nd day, they begin thickening the layers of parchment to slow down drying. It takes 8 to 10 days for parchment to dry. Once dry, parchment is placed in jute bags and sent to the processing plant in Huehuetenango to rest. Parchment is rested for approximately 3 months before being prepared for export.
ROSMA COFFEELANDS
Rosma Coffeelands was founded by Fredy Morales, son of Alejandro Morales. Alejandro purchased the family farm in 1963 and cultivated coffee there. Fredy took over the farm in 1980 and renamed the farm Rosma after his wife, Rose Mary.
In addition to the coffee he produces on Finca Rosma, Fredy works with his neighbors, friends and family to cultivate and source high-quality coffees that are traceable to individual family farms. Rosma acts not only as an exporter but also as a resource for farmers looking to improve production. They have a seedling nursery so farmers can access high-quality seedlings that are also more Coffee Leaf Rust resistant. They also provide refinancing credit for farmers and health and medical assistance.
Since 2022, sales of Rosma coffees in Europe, Middle East and North Africa have supported Coffee Kinder, an on-farm childcare center for the children of farm workers. At Coffe Kinder, children can play and learn safely during the harvest while their parents work. This reduces child labor and makes it possible for both parents to work, increasing incomes for laboring families and increasing the labor force for the harvest.
COFFEE IN HUEHUETENANGO AND GUATEMALA
Huehuetenango is well-known for its high altitude and consistent weather patterns. The region lies at a nexus of hot air sweeping eastwards from the Plains of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico and cool air rushing down from the Cuchumantanes Mountains. The meeting of this hot and cold air creates a microclimate that keeps frost in check and enables coffee cultivation at higher altitudes. Coffee production at 2,000 meters above sea level here is common. These conditions are perfect for producing the sparkling acidity and distinctive fruit flavors of the region.
Guatemala boasts a variety of growing regions and conditions that produce spectacular coffees. Today, the country is revered as a producer of some of the most flavorful and nuanced cups worldwide. We are proud to work with several exceptional in-country partners to bring these coffees to market.
The Guatemalan coffee industry experienced a major setback with the 2010 appearance of Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) in Latin America. The epidemic peaked in severity in 2012, and though CLR continues to affect some farms, Guatemala continues to produce high-quality, record-breaking coffees. In 2017, new and varied processing methods pushed prices at the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence contest to record highs.
The quality of coffee being produced in Guatemala is increasing, overall, due to the diversity of the industry’s producers. There are more and more small holder farmers producing exceptional coffee at high altitudes. Cooperatives are becoming more appealing to so many smallholders because they often offer farmers financing and other support for improving their farming and processing and are frequently able to offer higher prices for cherry than middlemen. Many cooperatives have initiated quality improvement training for farmer members and are becoming more adept at helping members market their coffee as specialty.
