Description
LOCATION.
Finca Agua Tibia is located in the municipality of San José Pinula, Guatemala; 27.5 kilometers from the city. The most appropriate route to travel from the city is, via Carretera to El Salvador; in which, on kilometer 16 you must take the road that goes towards San José Pinula, on the uneven passage that is located there. Arriving at the municipality of San José Pinula, at the end of the road, take the route that goes towards the municipality of Mataquescuintla, and not taking any adjacent roads, Finca Agua Tibia is located 6.5 kilometers from San José Pinula.
CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY.
The farm is located at an average altitude of 1,700 m.s.n.m. (5,580 p.s.n.m.), with an average annual temperature of 16ºC.
Due to the place where it is located, it has mountainous and high cloudiness characteristics, being the limited luminosity in several months of the year; which makes the farm have an Average Relative Humidity of 85%.
The farm has had rainfall in recent years of 1,600 mm per year on average.
The predominant characteristic of the soils is Clay Franc; being Vertisoles type.
CULTIVATION.
The farm has 365 Mz. Coffee growing; of which 285 Mz. They are in production and 80 Mz. They are under handling of pots and new areas; being a crop that is currently expanding; for which, the current administration renews and establishes new plantations under technical criteria (density, varieties, stroke); that guarantee the sustainability of the crop and the quality of the coffee that is produced. To do this, there is a coffee nursery that guarantees the genetic quality of new plantations, managed under new production techniques.
The farm has varieties such as: Common Pache, Bourbon, Mundo Novo, Caturra, Catuaí and Typica; being the varieties that are currently being used for the renovation of old plantations and new areas: Catuaí, Caturra and Geisha, using the Grafting technique. It is important to mention that, due to the climatic conditions of the farm, it is important to establish varieties with high vigor, since diseases such as Phoma spp. they are commonly found on plantations and in several months of the year, with high severity. However, Finca Agua Tibia, has strict control over the quality of coffee produced throughout the production chain; from its agronomic process in the field, to its wet and dry Mill.
COFFEE PROCESSING.
To maintain the quality of the coffee that comes from the field, the farm has its own Wet Mill, in which, several aspects of the grain are controlled from its receipt, since from there, a sample is taken of the mature coffee that enters, to which several physical analyses are done such as: density (grains / pound); percentage of coffee qualities received (mature, mature, immature, dry, empty, etc.); for which strict measures are in place for cutting (collecting) and receiving such coffee. All coffee collected in the day is selected prior to your income from the Wet Mill.
The coffee is Milled next day of cutting, and then passed to the ferment piles, which have structures suitable for it. The slicked coffee remains on average 22 hours in ferment before being washed.
Coffee is washed and selected in correteos; then rest for 20 hours in running water. This process accentuates many grain characteristics, and also offers cleaner quality.
Coffee is dried in patios with granite floors, thinly layered, where on average, it spends about 18 days for its drying endpoint (11% Humidity). It is important to mention, that because of the aforementioned characteristics of the climate and the place where the farm is located, light hours are limited and variable.
Coffee used for the Cup of Excellence 2023 competition; it is of the Geisha variety, from plantations established during 2017. The coffee was collected on February 18th, 2023; choosing suitable and only the fruits fully ripe; using de Natural process and drying in patios for 17 days. The coffee was stored as dried cherries on March 7th, 2023; having to date more than 100 days of rest.
TRACEABILITY.
Each process in the wet Mill is identified and tabulated, knowing exactly how many hours of ferment, the time of washing, rest and drying days of each of the coffee items, as well as its performance by weight from ripe coffee to dry parchment.
Every mature coffee receipt from the daily field becomes a number, which are not mixed and are properly identified, being able to obtain all the traceability of the coffee from its origin.
All numbers are sampled, and their quality control is carried through the Tasting department.
Due to market behavior, coffee separations are currently being made by specific varieties, such as: Yellow Bourbon, Geisha, etc.; Also, processes other than washed coffee, are made with specific varieties, such as: Honey's and Natural; being able to offer micro-lots of specialties.
During 2016, 2017, 2022 and this 2023; Finca Agua Tibia was selected by ANACAFE, as a representative estate of the Fraijanes Region; for its high and sustained quality; and 2020 and this 2023, our Geisha was the First place in the competition of Other Specials of the Region III.
ENVIRONMENT.
Wet Mill is operated with water from births of the farm. That is why Finca Agua Tibia, has a Protected Forest of 650 Ha.; which protect several tributaries of water that, in addition to providing the farm, supply several surrounding communities.
Water used in wet mill has an ecological wet system recycling, according to the current environmental laws.
MARKETING.
Coffee is marketed as Green Coffee through a dry and commercial export benefit from Guatemala to different customers in the United States, Asia and Europe.
Finca Agua Tibia also sells a percentage of coffee under the trademark of Café Finca Agua Tibia, in presentations of Roasted Coffee in Grain and Ground per pound, locally.
Farm Information
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Farm NameAGUA TIBIA Y ANEXOS
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FarmerINDUSTRIAS AGRICOLAS CENTRO AMERICANAS, S. A.
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Altitude1,700 masl
Score
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Score87.86
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Rank17
Lot Information
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Year2023
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Processing SystemNatural
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VarietyGESHA