Clifton Coffee - Guatemala: Santa Clara (Natural)

The Zelaya family has been growing coffee for over 100 years and four generations. This renowned family owns farms throughout Guatemala and grows one of only a handful of genuine Antigua coffees (coffees grown in the Antigua valley area bounded by three volcanoes; Agua, Acatenango and Fuego).

Returning for a 2nd year in our roastery, Finca Santa Clara is located on the fertile southern slopes of the Volcan de Agua in the Antigua Valley at 1,600-1,830 metres. Ricardo Zelaya has managed the farm, which was bought in 1974 by his Grandfather, since 1988 and is the 4th generation of the Zelaya family to have produced coffee at Santa Clara. Since taking over the farm, he has increased the size from 17 hectares of coffee plantations up to 95 hectares as well as building a wet mill, drying patios and a greenhouse to improve the processing of the coffee.

The Zelaya family is passionately committed to both quality and sustainability. The family’s farms are scrupulously well-managed right from the careful selection of varietals planted, to the close supervision of the dry and wet mills. The coffee is shade grown which protects the plants from direct sunlight, maintains soil health, and provides an important habitat for birds and insect life. The family’s mills are also eco-friendly. The water used in the wet processing of the cherries is drained into sedimentation tanks to prevent pollution of the local river systems and the pulp is transformed to humus by worm culture.

On Santa Clara, the workers are seen as members of the family, which is why, in 2010, Ricardo began a scholarship program to help workers pay for the education of their children. This program is funded by Ricardo and has the support of three buyers from abroad, who have supported the cause since 2012
Plans for the future of Santa Clara include planting two new varieties called Pacamara and Geisha as well as building a second greenhouse to dry larger volumes of coffee, as this type of drying improves the quality of the Cup.

Away from the plantation, Santa Clara’s goal is to have sufficient funds in the scholarship program to help all the children of the farm workers. Despite the fact that the program grows each year, at the moment there are still only 9 children with scholarships. It is hoped that with more overseas buyers help, all the children of the workers will be able to realize their dreams.

To produce the natural lot for the first time in 2014 only the very best perfectly ripe cherries were selected for this process. The beans were washed thoroughly in the receiving tanks and additional water was passed over them to remove any traces of dirt. They were then left in this tank over night.

Additionally the cherries were taken through the washing channels to insure there were no floaters and then transferred directly to the African beds inside the green house where they were turned every 30 minutes initially but as the beans dried out this was increased to every 15 minutes to ensure uniform drying. Drying took between 21 and 35 days depending on the weather to reach the desired moisture level.

We have long been big fans of naturally processed coffees, but this is probably the best we have come across in the past 2 years.

This is a truly incredible coffee in very short supply!

Roasterr: Clifton Coffee

Clifton Coffee does not deliver to United Kingdom