El Libano - Guatemala 2019 Verified listing

History of the Farm:

Finca El Libano has been in the family for over 100 years, and has been producing coffee for over 70 years. The coffee farms were established by my father, Don Mariano Perez Melendez, who put in place the values of the farm such as social and environmental responsibility, as well as the growing practices that produce the high quality coffee that the farms have been known for. These values and practices continue to be upheld to this day. 

Changes at the farm:

• Originally coffee was sold in cherry form. Between 1958-1960, my father built the beneficio and patios that are used to process the coffee (from cherry to parchment)
• Donkeys and the workers transported the coffee from the beneficio up to the patios. In 1970, my father began to develop roads throughout the farm wide enough for a pick up truck to transport the coffee
• Over the years the beneficio has gone through modifications and new additions (fermentation tanks, semi-dry siphon receiver, water recirculation system, honey water treatment tanks)

Farm Information:

Region: Acatenango Valley 

Location: La Pampa, Acatenango, Chimaltenango, Guatemala  

Coordinates: N14 33’ 29.4”    W90 56’ 21.7”

Altitude: 1400- 1600 msnm

Topography: Variable. Flat, wavy, broken and very broken

Process: Washed Process

Farm Area: 19.6 Has  

Avg. Temp: 25 -30 Celsius (77-86 F)

Types of Soils: Loam, sandy loam and clayey loam; of volcanic origin

Avg. Ann. Precip.- 1,300 mm 

Microclimates: Two well defined microclimates; one with mild temps and the other with lower temps; main factors including movement of the sun during the day, the topography and the types of soils.