When our roaster Emma visited Guatemala, she found a place where coffee is everywhere – part of the landscape, the culture, and daily life. Along the way, she met specialty coffee producers, cupped with some of our partners, and explored a personal family connection to the country’s rich coffee history. Enjoy her travel report:
I recently returned from a trip to Guatemala with my family. Timing was risky for coffee since it’s technically their rainy season (July), but the few days of rain didn’t dampen anything and we were still able to see all the beauty Guatemala has to offer.
The first thing I noticed is that coffee grows everywhere, and I mean everywhere. The soil and climate is so perfectly suited that we saw coffee growing on major city streets, outside our hotel in Antigua, and even on our various hikes around Tikal and Atitlan.
Specialty Coffee Scene
Another discovery: specialty coffee isn’t just an export item here – locals are drinking it. In almost every specialty coffee shop we visited, the beans were Guatemalan. Rarely did I find an imported bean, which means that a nice percentage of the specialty coffee beans stay in country rather than being exported, which is commonly the case in other producing countries.
Even more, coffee shops often highlight beans from their own or nearby regions. Maybe it’s due to logistics or cost, but it felt more like a show of pride, to share the flavor of their region, their work, or a new experimental processing with every visitor who steps in.
Harvest & Climate in Guatemala
Guatemala’s climate is ideal for coffee. The mix of volcanic soil, high altitudes, and distinct microclimates gives each region a unique cup profile. Farming beneath an active volcano means the soil is incredibly rich in minerals, giving the coffee a unique character – complex, vibrant, and full of life. From the lush hills around Huehuetenango to the volcanic slopes of Antigua, the terroir shines through in every sip.
The main harvest typically runs November through March, though exact timing shifts depending on altitude and region. Lower elevations start earlier, while higher elevations finish later into the spring, though this is being impacted by climate change. That staggered harvest means fresh coffee is being picked, processed, and shipped over several months – keeping Guatemala a steady presence on the specialty market. Washed coffee remains the main processing style seen in Guatemala, but there is more and more experimentation with natural and anaerobic processing.
Guatemala City
In Guatemala City, a highlight from the trip was visiting our import partner, Primavera, founded by Nadine Rasch. She, alongside quality specialist Seiner Mérida, welcomed my family after just flying in from Geneva, where we had actually met for World of Coffee.
Primavera works closely with its Guatemalan sister company, La Central de Café, which handles milling, exporting, and on-the-ground support for producers. La Central operates a solar-powered dry mill, warehouses, and a cupping lab in Huehuetenango. Their team includes agronomists, logistics experts, and Q-graders who cup and grade coffees during harvest.
Through La Central, Primavera connects roasters with Guatemalan producers, ensuring transparency, traceability, and fair payment. While Primavera Green Coffee manages importing, La Central maintains a strong local presence – supporting farmers, processing their coffee, and preparing it for export.
For the past five years, we have sourced our T’xayalaj coffee through Primavera. Unfortunately, due to damaged roads and political instability, we were not able to visit María Pérez Morales’s farm, located in Aldea San Marcos, Jacaltenango, Huehuetenango. However, I was able to taste her newest harvest during our cupping session. I recognized her coffee immediately by the distinct creamy texture we have come to associate with T’xayalaj.
Some other standout coffee shops in Guatemala City included:
- Teco Coffee House
- Mano’s Coffee
- Rojo Cerezo Coffee
- La Central Coffee Roasters, founded by Nadine Rasch of Primavera
Atitlan and Surrounding Areas
We then explored more of Guatemala, visiting Tikal, Cobán, and Panajachel, where I met Guatemalan Latte Art Champion Jeshúa from Hidden Coffee. They were incredibly fun and enthusiastic, eager to share their coffees, which are roasted by Baraka Coffee Roasters in San Pedro La Laguna.
Another standout was Space Coffee Roasters in Santiago Atitlán. There, we joined a cupping with the roasters and tasted some exciting experimental coffees – thank you so much for the visit, Diego Mendoza!
Other favorite coffee shops in the area included:
- Circles Caffé & Bakery
- Nativo Café
- Chali Café
Antigua
Antigua was magical: specialty cafés could be found around every corner and expansive coffee farms are situated below the active volcano, Fuego. While we were there, more than 86 earthquakes were recorded, and we could see the volcano smoking every day. There was significant damage in both Guatemala City and Antigua, which was difficult to witness. Yet, despite this heaviness, we were grateful to visit Lucia Solis and her husband, Nick, who welcomed us to the beautiful farm where they are currently living.
Lucia and Nick graciously gave us a tour, showing us the fermentation tanks, drying beds, and the beautiful cupping lab where she also hosts her fermentation camps. We learned about their processing methods, including experiments with yeast and controlled fermentations. Lucia not only consults for farms around the world but also leads annual fermentation camps that draw producers and roasters eager to learn more about the world of fermentation. She also hosts a podcast, Making Coffee, which has featured some of our sourcing partners such as Pranoy Thipaiah and Vava Angwenyi.
They patiently answered my many questions and shared a beautiful, diverse cupping table with us – ranging from coffees processed at their fermentation camp in Kenya to their most recent Guatemalan harvest. We left feeling deeply thankful for their time, generosity, and knowledge.
A Personal Note
There’s history here for me. My grandmother, great-aunt, and great-uncle grew up in Guatemala, on a finca called Seamay (meaning land of the bamboo) until 1990. Being there with my dad, sharing stories, tasting coffee from places he used grew up going, was something I won’t forget. Unfortunately once my great uncle passed, the farm was sold, but my dad’s cousins still live in Antigua and honor that rich history.
