This exceptional micro-lot comes from a tiny 4.5-hectare farm located in Guatemala’s Santa Rosa department, produced by Darwin Estuardo Fabian Estrada.

Darwin is a fifth-generation coffee producer. His family’s history in coffee dates back to 1899 when they first moved to Santa Rosa de Lima. The family established a large 154-hectare farm called Finca El Chicón. Bonifacio Fabian, Darwin’s father, inherited a small piece of this farm called El Calagual, named after the abundant native trees in the area.

Darwin’s process for coffee requires a 3 stages, ensuring the highest cup quality possible. The first stage is hand picking, with the team at Calagual only picking coffee at 25-26° Brix. Once the coffee is picked, the second stage can begin. This involves 36 hours of aerobic fermentation in cherry form.

The third stage is the laying of the cherries on Calagual’s African drying beds. When laying cherries out, the team carefully sorts through them to remove any unripe or damaged fruit. Cherries are left to dry for approximately 8 days before the team begins to turn them by hand.