SWD Guatemala Coban

Guatemala – Land of the Eternal Spring – is renowned for its high volcanoes, varied microclimates, tropical rainforests, and rich Mayan culture. Anacafé has defined eight coffee regions: Acatenango Valley, Antigua Coffee, Traditional Atitlan, Rainforest Coban, Fraijanes Plateau, Highland Huehue, New Oriente, and Volcanic San Marcos. Within these regions 90% of coffee grown is by smallholder producers. The remaining 10% are large producers representing 100 hectares or more per farm.

Established in 1969, FEDECOCAGUA is a cooperative organisation with around 20,000 members. Seventy percent of co-op members are members of indigenous groups from various regions of Guatemala, including Huehuetenango, Cobán, Verapaces, Retalhuleu, San Marcos, and Zacapa. The organisation is made up of over 150 individual co-operatives that supply the coffee, and they are the main exporter of coffee from Guatemala.

We have a working relationship with Fedecocagua that goes back years, and so it is natural to start bringing the regional coffees we have sourced for a long time with them to our friends at Swiss Water for decaffeination before introducing them to our growing range of ‘Sourced’ decaf coffees.

This coffee is an excellent example of the flavour and quality from the Coban region, capital municipality to the larger Alta Verapaz department. Other than for coffee, they are known for basketball history, with their youth leagues reputedly being the best in the country.