Wilson Zuleta – Washed

About Cafe Colis Resistencia:

Within Mataquescuintla and area, nearly 90% of the population identifies as a coffee producer
and yet, almost none of these producers have access to a market beyond selling in cherry to local intermediaries or to large farms who process their coffee and sell it as blended lots to their international market. This means around 35,000 people who live off of coffee as a primary income have no other options for sale.

Indeed, Guatemala’s history of coffee production has always erred to the support of major
landowners of European or Mestizo descent, and relied upon the forced labor of Indigenous
people to claim its place as one of Central America’s largest coffee producers (Read more about the mandamiento system.). This violent and painful system leaves its vestigial remains in the monopolio that exists today — in short, a system of production and export in which the
government supports major landholders while holding back resources and access to small
producers such as those in Mataquescuintla. This monopoly not only keeps producers away from the market access they need for truly sustainable prices, but it also keeps them away from technical assistance and education that could propel them forward. As such, producers like those that make up Cafe Colis Resistencia are left to fend for themselves in this incredibly challenging transition from a lifetime of selling in cherry to processing and drying their own coffee for sale as micro-lots. This lack of assistance is only underscored by the closure in the last few years of Anacafe’s technical assistance office in Mataquescuintla. Despite being one of the highest altitude areas in Guatemala, with some of the highest potential quality for coffee, Anacafe chose to remove themselves citing in part the protests against the mine.

About the Variety:

Pache San Ramon is a natural compact mutation of Typica, that originated in Guatemala, typically grown at elevation above 1500 masl.