As part of our commitment to partner with the right farmers that grow the beans you have come to love, we have worked hard to focus on relationship, buy ethically, and ensure the farmers are treated the very best. We are happy to pay a little extra to make sure of it.
Below are highlights of the coffee we partner with in Guatemala, which makes up our single origin as well as part of our House Blend.
Meet the Farmers - Source Information
For more than a decade we've (Onyx Coffee) cultivated deep relationships with a few women farm owners around our home in Huehuetenango. For decades producers like Ana Maria Ortega and Paty Perez have shown us the special strength, resiliency, and generosity of women in key leadership roles at the farm level. Across Guatemala, women are the majority labor force on coffee farms, from picking to export. And around the world women comprise up to 70% of farm work while owning disproportionately few assets and land. Despite limited access, discrimination and violence, many women have forged their own paths for their families through their coffee farms.
As part of our initiative to diversify our sourcing, provide market access, and highlight the stories of powerful women, we bring you ELLA - Women Producers of Guatemala. Through our QC Lab in Guatemala City, we're expanding our reach while doing due diligence necessary to invest in long-term partnerships empowering more women producers. As we find outstanding farms in sync with our ethos, we'll begin to feature them singularly, such as Doña Sofia from Finca Armenia Lorena. The ELLA blend will be a curation of women-produced lots we're onboarding, with a brown sugary sweetness, full creamy body, orange and berries, pleasant nuttiness, classic crowd-pleasing vibes all around.
This year's three ELLA contributing farms include:
Jovita Castillo, Finca La Joya Grande
Region: Santa Rosa, Nuevo Oriente
Altitude: 1750 MASL
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon
Farm Size: 40 hectares, 85% coffee growing area
Rita Cohen, Finca Santa Rita
Region: Fraijanes Altitude: 1700 MASL Varieties: Caturra, Catuai
Farm Size: 25 hectares, 85% coffee growing area
Sofia Plocharski, Finca Armenia Lorena
Region: San Marcos Altitude: 1400-1650 MASL
Varieties: Caturra, Bourbon, Catuai
Farm Size: 60 hectares, 60% coffee growing area Ella
Washed Process Details
Fermentation time: 36 hours fermentation after de-pulping
Drying type: Concrete Patio
Drying Drying time: 10-14 days