Guatemala Palo Blanco - (Fully Washed)
The owner of this 60-hectare farm, Ivan Ovalle, is laser focused on producing high quality, eco-friendly coffees. He utilises his engineering degree to increase the farm’s water efficiency and ensure that workers only pick the ripest cherry with the highest sugar content.
All of the coffee on Ovalle’s farm is grown organically, meaning no pesticides or artificial fertilizers are used. With his organic-certification he receives higher prices and it means his workers and family are not exposed to dangerous chemicals; it also means those chemicals aren’t running off into the environment, and into global water systems.
Ovalle’s workers are carefully trained to know when to pick perfectly ripe cherry. He uses analyses of sugar content to find the optimum time to pick cherry, and all of his workers are taught this skill.
The farm is committed to reducing any adverse side effects of coffee growing – something that Ovalle has been working on for more than a decade. He has spent years reducing water usage on the farm, and uses an Ecopulper to minimise water during pulping. He also works with various programmes to improve the farm’s environmental and social impacts.
Guatemala itself is revered as a producer of some of the most flavourful and nuanced cups worldwide, and this coffee is no different.