It's Nearly Harvest Time!
We can hardly believe it, but we’ve made it through 2020 and come out to see another exciting harvest season in Guatemala. What’s going on at origin?
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS CONTINUE
Life goes on in Guatemala despite the global pandemic. Even though 2020’s strictest travel restrictions have been eased, the virus is mostly clustered in Guatemala City, with the infection rate relatively well-managed. Our team in Huehuetenango has carried on with their normal flurry of activity, especially the trainings that help farmers seeking to maximize the quality of their coffee - this year, agronomists Jose and Rodolfois leading smaller trainings and staying masked up while they work. Meanwhile, we are implementing new Covid-19 protocols for our cupping lab.
This year, while we have ruled out farm visits, we are still pushing ahead with our producer partners, keeping in touch via telecommunications, and working to build meaningful relationships remotely. (Stay tuned for our Virtual Origin Trip this year to find out how to participate!)
STATE OF THE ART DRY MILLING
As the days in Guatemala get sunnier, we’re excited to see our new solar powered dry mill in action this year. We’ve brought in the best equipment to do what we do best, process incredible lots of high-quality coffee in lots of every size, small to large. Our dry mill staff, led by veteran mill manager Santos, are excited to get this new year’s work underway in the new space. The mill lies outside Guatemala City and will also provide storage space for our coffees, which must be kept to proper temperature and humidity standards in order to ensure top quality for export.
WEATHER & COFFEE QUALITY
Our producer partners reported to us that their farms were fine despite the tropical storms of last year, which was welcome news. After this year’s storm season, Guatemala is seeing cooler and slightly misty days. We’re expecting that this will mean slow cherry maturation, which will lead to lovely sweetness in the cup.