Guatemala microclimate boutique coffee Santa Sophia Manor details Santa Sofia

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Basic information

Farm: Santa Sophia

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Catimor

Treatment method: washing treatment method

Altitude: 1675 m

Owner: Pablojos é Ferrigno Figueroa

Town / city: Taktik

Area: Cobb á n, Alta Verapaz

Flavor description: plum, wine, orange, dark chocolate, cherry, raisin, sweet, bright, syrup

Santa Sophia-Guatemala

In the late 1980s, Pablojo é Ferrigno Figueroa, a third-generation coffee grower, was honored to attend a conference in which the topic of "quality" was widely discussed as the future of coffee. Just three years later, in 1991, Pablo decided to set up a coffee farm dedicated to the production of boutique coffee.

Pablo's roots are coffee: his grandfather came from Italy and set up several farms while exporting coffee. His father also has a farm. Pablo developed an interest in coffee from an early age and worked as a young adult on a family farm for many years. However, all the family's experience has been growing low coffee in the warm coastal areas of Guatemala. Fine coffee needs different climates, not to mention different methods!

The only question is where to start. As a young entrepreneur and maverick, Pablo chose Arta Alta Verapaz, an area that, despite its cool climate, gathered all the growth conditions he was looking for. He found a medium-sized land for sale in the town of Taktik-no ordinary coffee producer at all because of the unusually cold weather. Many friends and family (not to mention other coffee farmers) were skeptical about the location and plans, and Pablo knew the road ahead would be difficult. Nevertheless, on October 15, 1991, he brought a bag of coffee seeds to the area to start his nursery, the year his daughter Sophia was born. Pablo named his first daughter Farm and was born in the same year.

Even today, Santa Sophia is the only local miniature coffee farm and one of the best in the region. Today the farm produces Caturra,Catuai,Typica and Catimor, with a total annual output of about 500 bags, 100 per cent of which are sold as boutique coffee.

Coffee is picked selectively, and only the most ripe cherries are picked. After picking, the coffee fruit is taken to the receiving pot on the farm and then mechanically pulped. The coffee is fermented for up to 48 hours. After fermentation, the coffee is washed, then soaked in clean water for 24 hours to remove any traces of mucus, and then dried.

Most of Finca Santa Sofia's coffee is dried on the terrace, although due to almost constant rainfall in the area, farms often have to use dryers to complete the drying process, according to a very strict and controlled drying schedule. Coffee rotates no more than 40 °C in these mechanical dryers and rests between drying to stabilize humidity. Once the parchment coffee reaches the ideal humidity, it will be sent to a dry mill for grinding and then rest in the warehouse for at least 21 days.