Guatemala

Luis “Wicho” Valdés is a third-generation coffee producer who studied agricultural engineering while learning coffee cultivation from his family. His farms sit at 1,400–1,500 masl in Alta Verapaz, Cobán, where 500 pickers hand-select ripe cherries during harvest. Los Volcanes Coffee processes Wicho’s coffees into two types of lots, one dried on patios and raised beds, and the other using mechanical dryers. This dual approach is essential in Cobán’s consistently wet climate. To manage the heavy rainfall and protect the soil, Wicho cultivates his coffee on terraces. Foliage is monitored twice a year for nutrients and disease, and the land is enriched using organic coffee pulp and vermicompost. These thoughtful practices result in some of Guatemala’s most distinctive and high-quality coffees.