Francisco Morales and his wife have been the proud owners of La Esperanza farm in Cipresales for over 40 years. And they have achieved a great deal.

As for many other producers, the initial years of starting their farm activities were very challenging ones. But thanks to the hard work, dedication and commitment of the family, the farm has grown into a business that provides income for the household and generates a source of employment for many others in the surrounding area. You can imagine that the name of the farm, which in English
translates into “The Hope”, explains well how important coffee production is for them.

Francisco is the type of person that never feels done learning new things. His eagerness to hear experiences from others, and try out new things at the farm, wet mill or drying area, makes that we feel excited to be working with him. His curiosity and interest for improving coffee quality resulted in winning several prizes the Huehuetenango Highland competitions. This year he dried the parchment coffee under shade nets, to improve the gradual process of drying and with the aim to
enhance flavour and prolong shelf-life.

This special lot of Maragogype variety coffee was grown at La Esperanza, and harvested at their peak ripeness;Francisco pays special attention to making sure farmworkers can identify cherries that are ready to be picked. After picking the coffee cherries are soaked in water both to ensure cleanliness and also to remove any “floaters” which can be unripe or malformed.

The coffee is dry fermented in tanks for 30 hours, and then thoroughly washed. After washing, the coffee is soaked for an additional 12 hours in fresh, clean water. The coffee is dried on a cement patio in the sun for about 5 days. He takes special care to ensure that all coffee wastewater is properly disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.