Story

La Leona is the coffee that perfectly represents the community of San Marcos, Guatemala. The lion is the symbol of the evangelist St Mark, and throughout history, it has been represented worldwide by statues, on coins, flags, and other insignias. In the department of San Marcos, there are statues of the Lion of St Mark, signifying the power of the evangelist word, the spiritual elevation of the people and their devoutness. Due to the delicate, floral, and subtle notes of orange and honey in their coffee, this community blend is best described as the female lion! The area is surrounded by two of the highest peaks in Guatemala, the Tajumulco and Tacaná volcanoes. Tajumulco and Tacaná are very characteristic of the region, they stand out creating a beautiful sight and resulting in coffee farms having ideal volcanic fertile soil.

The producers that put together La Leona coffee are committed to quality. They have worked hard on their infrastructure over the years to improve the quality of what they do. Today, they are proud of the coffee that they produce and are excited about what the future holds.

Contributing Producers

San Marcos is a department with volcanic soils that give the coffee grown here unique citrus and floral notes not found in any other area. In this department, different elevations and microclimates are giving the coffee seeds unique characteristics and traits. The harvest period in the higher altitude areas begins in late December and ends in mid or late March. San Marcos growers have continually improved their practices from field to harvest. Some have changed their fermentation equipment from wood to plastic containers or concrete piles, others ferment dry, and still, others do submerged fermentation. Although coffee growers belong to various self-organized groups, they prefer to work individually and deliver the coffee because they do not want to take responsibility for farmers who do not know how to process their coffee. In addition to coffee, growers also harvest avocados and bananas. These products serve them for consumption and provide them with a small income. Most coffee producers work in agriculture, and some receive remittances from emigrant relatives, which helps them further improve their homes and farms.

Harvesting is carried out when the coffee fruits have reached their optimal stage of ripeness. On the same day of harvest, in the afternoon, the coffee is taken to the pulper, where farmers use manual and motor-powered equipment. The freshly pulped coffee is placed in concrete piles or plastic containers for fermentation. The fermentation time varies according to climatic conditions and ranges from 18 to 24 hours. Sometimes the coffee undergoes a dry fermentation (with water) or submerged (with water) fermentation.

After this step is complete, the coffee is washed and left to rest in the water for about a day before being taken to the drying area. Most of the drying process takes place in concrete patios, but some producers carry out the drying in the shade and raised beds. Commonly, dry parchment coffee is stored when it has a moisture content between 10% and 11%. Farmers store it at the farms for a few weeks or days before delivering them to our purchasing stations.