Isabel Ramirez is a second-generation coffee producer living in Concepcion Huista at the Huehuetenango region. Her farm is called Q’antxabina which is in the local indigenous language Popti and means Guachpilin in Spanish, which is a native tree at the region, also used as a shade tree for coffee plants. The farm was started by Isabel’s husband more than 20 years ago but due to low economic resources and low coffee prices he emigrated to the United States. Isabel took over the management of the land and is now teaching their children about farming practices. During the harvest Isabel makes sure that only the ripe cherries are picked, which totals into three picking passes on the farm. The freshly picked cherries are transported with horses to be depulped with a small depulper and fermented in water for 48 hours. After the coffee is dried for six days on a patio. THOUGHTS FROM THE PRODUCER “From the beginning I have tried to make producing coffee profitable. This has been the first year when I have been producing and marketing my coffee for its quality. I feel very motivated to keep on improving my work”, explains Isabel.

W H A T  D O E S  T H E  F U T U R E  H O L D ?

“For me it is important to provide new working opportunities for the people on my farm as well as give better life for my children”, tells Isabel.

A R C O I R I S  P R O C E S S I N G  N O T E S :

After the coffee is picked at the peak of freshness, Isabel herself takes charge of processing this lot of coffee. The coffee is depulped about 5 hours after picking in the family’s artisanal wet mill. The depulped coffee is then set in a tank to ferment without water for 32 hours. This long and slow fermentation, due to a relatively cool environment, contributes to this coffee’s excellent quality. The fermentation finishes and then the coffee must be washed carefully to remove all the mucilage. The parchment coffee is then moved to the patio to dry. Drying lasts for 7 days, and the coffee is in the sun from about 9 AM to 2:30 PM to catch the most intense rays of sun each day. Isabel and her family turn the coffee once per hour to ensure thorough and even drying. Once the drying is complete, the coffee is stored in clean sacks before it is delivered to our warehouse in nearby San Antonio Huista.