Guatemala Tajumuco Farmer Center *TOP LOT*

This is a washed coffee from Tajumuco, Huehuetenango. 

This region of Huehuetenango is one of the most productive regions of all of Guatemala. Why? The conditions are text book perfect for coffee growing. About 1600-1800mm rainfall per year concentrated between April and October. The soil is both rich and deep. Coffee trees are protected from the wind by the managed shade and the towering mountains that surround the farms. Tajumuco producers start the wet milling process by depulping in the afternoon, leaving it for 24hrs of dry fermentation. Later to separate the floaters and some of the greens in the first washing these are skimmed off the top. Then the coffees are washed in tiny washing channels. Flat space is minimal so the coffees are fully sun dried on concrete patios, roofs or black tarps where ever space can be found.

Tajumuco is part of Olam Speciatly Huehue Supply Chain. Why did we put a warehouse here? Geographically is not too far from our small warehouses in San Antonio Huista and Union Cantinil. However to get closer to some of the higher altitude farms and take one step closer to the coffees in San Pedro Necta and Todos Santos, we have decided to put our first Farmer Center in Tajumuco. This is our one stop shop for coffee farmers of all sizes. We have a variety garden behind the warehouse, cupping on site with feedback and immediate premiums paid to farmers.

Tajumuco is important to the region because there is a bank in the town that serves about a dozen small communities that surround it. The region has large mountain ranges that run east to west and many small ridges that connect them. Tajumuco sits on top of one of these ranges at 1800 meters and there are a couple cell towers very close to the warehouse. Being so high up in the range, water is scares. With Olam Specialty Europe we evaluated and funded a water filter for the local school so that the 160 children could have drinking water all year round.