GUATEMALA TODOS SANTOS #1151

Curator's Notes

Todos Santos comes from three growers within the Fair Trade ASODIETT co-op. Their location on the Rio Ocho makes for some fine beans— you’ll enjoy a sparkling berry acidity at first sip, flowing into base of smooth, spicy chocolate.

Roaster's Notes

https://bluebeardcoffee.com/collections/bluebeard-coffees/products/todos-santos-huehuetenango-guatemala Flavor notes: Raspberry, guava, caramel & milk chocolate. Produced by ASODIETT Co-op farmers Vicente Ramirez, Teodoro Calmo and Alfredo Martinez Varietals: Bourbon and Caturra Process: Fully washed Region: Rio Ocho, Huehuetenango, Guatemala Elevation: 1750 MASL Import Partner: Shared Source Addition Source Information from Shared Source: This is a carefully selected community lot made up of Bourbon and Caturra coming from three members of the ASODIETT cooperative, located in the township of Mash, in the Todos Santos Cuchumatán municipality in the department of Huehuetenango. About 30 families make up the ASODIETT cooperative, and many are of the Maya Mam ethnicity. Many members still primarily use the Mam language, and speak Spanish as a second language. The group was formed in 1995, and was formalized as an Association in 2010; they received their Cooperative status in 2017. Located along the skirts of the Rio Ocho, members’ farms have healthy soils and good conditions for growing coffee. ASODIETT has been steadily growing over the last few years, thanks to intentional leadership and connections built by their leader Macario Calmo. The group is working to finish building a warehouse building with a second floor- this will allow the group to store members’ coffee in cooler, more stable conditions, and they hope to have humble quarters for visitors to stay as well. The warehouse will and has already served as a community center- there’s a small, community-led pharmacy on the first floor, and the area is a communal meeting space. The group’s sense of solidarity and focus on shared progress is evident. FARM MANAGEMENT The ASODIETT group does not have an organic certificate, though their cultural farming practices depend very little on synthetic chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides or herbicides. The group has designated two members (Fernando Santos and Vicente Calmo) who are in charge of their bio-lab; they make a fermented foliar from the pulp of the leaves of a local plant called Horsetail, steeped in water. Mixed with decomposed coffee pulp, manure, and the leaf litter of native leguminous trees, producers use this product as a fertilizer, and as a way to return microorganisms and nutrients to the soil to keep trees resilient and healthy. The group also collectively purchases organic fertilizers, to reduce the cost for members. PRICE TRANSPARENCY We purchase parchment coffee directly from the association, quetzals are transferred straight to their bank account upon receipt of parchment at our chosen mill. We pay for transport from Huehuetenango to the mill. We paid between 1100 and 1350 quetzales per quintal (100 pounds of parchment). At times throughout harvest, the local rate was around 650 quetzales/quintal- the cost of production is estimated to be around 700-800 quetzales/quintal.