Los Arroyos farm can be found in the rugged terrain of the La Libertad region of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. The 50 hectares of sloping fields can require careful cultivation and logistics, spanning 1400–1800 meters above sea level. Felipe Venenciano Martinez Lopez and his three sons operate the farm and oversee production, growing Caturra, Catuai, and Pache varieties. Ally Coffee has been working with Los Arroyos for years, beginning with them contributing to our Ceiba Core Coffee. We’re very excited to be bringing this coffee from Felipe and his sons on as a single farm offering.
The farm has four wetmills in the fields that act as satellites for the central mill and drying patio. Here at these mills, coffee is pulped and fermented before being moved down the slopes for drying. Using these satellites has several benefits; the cooler temperature and higher elevation here means that the coffee enjoys longer fermentation times, contributing to complexity in the cup, and the processed coffee is much easier to move down from the steep fields to the central mill for drying. After being fermented, the coffee is dried on concrete patios at the central facility.