Santa Isabel is a fifth-generation family farm, comprising 300 hectares in the beautiful and rugged region of Alta Verapaz: a unique growing region in Guatemala that has remarkable mountains, a cool climate and plenty of rainfall, as well as dense rainforest and impressive flora. Founded in 1875, the farm is today owned by Luis Valdés Sr and managed by his son, who is also called Luis—or, to his friends and family, “Wicho”.

Wicho grew up watching and helping his father on the farm and fell in love with coffee from a very young age. After school, he went on to study agriculture, before returning to work at Santa Isabel in 1998. Wicho’s passion and love for the farm is evident as explained very simply, “We love it here.” 

The Valdés family care deeply about preserving their natural environment, and have dedicated nearly one-third of their farm (88 hectares) to a natural forest reserve—made up of cedar, pine and mahogany trees—which helps protect natural water resources and encourage biodiversity, providing a habitat for local animal and birdlife. Wicho also grows macadamia nut trees on the farm, which he harvests, mills and sells.

The remaining 200 hectares of the farm at Santa Isabel is dedicated to coffee production and is planted with a wide range of varieties. Native inga trees are planted throughout the plantation to provide shade for the coffee trees and help enrich the soil by providing a healthy cover of foliage. The estate’s nursery currently has over 18,000 seedlings of seven different varieties, including Marsellesa, SL28, Gesha and Java.Wicho adopts a systematic approach to pruning, to optimise ventilation and light (and reduce excess humidity), which minimises fungal disease (including leaf rust) and, in turn, the need for treatment applications.

Since late 2021, the team at Santa Isabel have been actively working to reduce the amount of chemicals and non-organic materials used on the farm. In pursuit of this, Wicho has set up a lab at the farm, and has a full-time employee dedicated to harvesting microorganisms that, when used in a solution made with other organic compounds like cow manure and coffee cherry pulp, helps to make the coffee plants more naturally resistant to disease and insects. The results from this progressive approach have been incredible; Wicho no longer uses any pesticides on the farm and has already reduced his use of fungicides to more than half. The trees are also healthier and happier, and Wicho expects the quality to improve even more in the coming years. As he explained on our last visit, “instead of investing more in medicine, we want to invest more in nutrition.” So far, the plan is working, as trees have become more resistant to the effects of the roya fungus, with only around ten percent of the trees showing signs of infection during the 2024 harvest (down from 2023’s 30%).

Santa Isabel sits at 1,400–1,600m above sea level. The farm receives a lot of rainfall—around 3,500mm, which falls regularly for 9–10 months of the year. This constant rain (much of it a gentle drizzle) means that coffee tree flowering is very staggered, with eight to nine flowerings a year, usually between April and June. This results in a long harvest period, which typically runs from November–May, as the coffee cherries ripen at very different rates. To combat this, Wicho instructs at least 12 passes for picking (with breaks of up to 14 days between passes), to ensure that only the very ripest cherries are selected.

Wicho employs and trains over 40 permanent workers throughout the year, and several hundred temporary workers during the harvest period (though he only managed to find 120 this past year), who come from up to 20 miles away to work on the farm. Wicho has commented that although many farms in the region find it increasingly difficult to secure labour for the entirety of the harvest, Santa Isabel has a stable and reliable workforce, despite their reputation for being demanding in regards to selective picking. In addition to being paid fairly, a picker at Santa Isabel can harvest up to 160 pounds of cherry a day, which is a great day’s yield, meaning that many of the same workers come back year after year. Wicho knows most of the workers by name, and there is an open and respectful dynamic amongst the team.