Café Santa Anita

Weight: 340g

Variety: Bourbon, Catuai, Carimor, Cattura

Process: Washed, sun dried

Elevation: 1,000m

Region: San Marcos, Guatemala

Cupping notes: Subtle Floral notes, pronounced acidity, good body, brown sugar, almond, cinnamon, green grapes

The Coffee Producers of Santa Anita (APCASA) cooperative is located in Santa Anita in the San Marcos region, in the North-western highlands of the country. It is a rural, isolated community of 35 families who speak 5 different languages: Spanish and four Mayan ones. The community was established in 1998, after Guatemala’s violent and destructive 36 year-long civil war. A group of ex-guerilla fighters, who had spent the better part of their lives in the mountains fighting for their ideals and hopes of a brighter future, decided to reintegrate into civilian society by purchasing an old coffee farm with a low-interest government loan offered as a part of the Peace Accords.

This new community flourished for some time due to their commitment to learning the process and business of growing coffee. However, some internal divisions, natural disaster and hardships ultimately led to the creation of APCASA to work towards a collective goal. Today, just 8 members collaborate to make coffee a sustainable future for the community of Santa Anita, and to find resistance and resilience among these ex-guerilla fighters in Guatemala’s tumultuous history.