19. El Rincon – Guatemala Espresso

Unlike most other coffee growing areas, Fraijanes is located just outside Guatemala's capital, Guatemala City. Despite being so close to the metropole, Faijanes has a long history of coffee growing, with the Juanes brothers after whom the region is named bringing coffee to Fraijanes some 200 years ago. Bourbon, Typica, Catuaí and the Guatemalan native Pache Comun are among the varieties grown in the region, which is known to produce slightly more acidic coffees than the rest of the Central American country. Fraijanes enjoys rich volcanic soil known as sandy loam, which has been fed by ash, sludge and clay from the nearby Pacaya Volcano.

The Beneficio San Victor lies between the Laguna El Pino, the Cerro Redondo volcano and Lake Amatitlan, in the town of Los Verdes. The Mill has been run by the Molina family since the 1990s, bringing together several farmers from the region, including the Cooperativa El Cerrito, the Cooperativa Fraijanes, smallholders and the local coffee plantations. Recently, the mill has been upgraded with more efficient equipment that can produce higher quality coffee while using less water. The team is also famous for producing some special micro lots that showcase unusual processing methods like double fermentation, honey processing, and anaerobic naturals like this El Ricon Lot.

Relationship: New Partner
Producer: Cooperative
Type of farm: Cooperative

Region, Country: Fraijanes, Guatemala
Altitude: 1600 masl
Soil type: Sandy Loam
Fertilisation method: organic
Shade type: Not shade grown
Processing location: Beneficio San Victor
Number of varieties: Various
Harvest season: Sept-April