Guatemala El Amate y Anexos

Farm: El Aguacatal
Region: Huehuetenango
Process: Natural
Variety: Caturra
Elevation: 1675 masl

Winner of the Anacafé One Of A Kind Auction

22 days dried in full cherry on raised beds in partial sunlight under greenhouse conditions, with 70% deviation of ultraviolet rays.

On the Mexican border, the father-and-son team of Petronilo Martinez and Petronilo Jesus manage El Aguacatal farm. El Aguacatal, which translates to “the avocado,” was named after the avocado trees that are planted throughout the plantation. 

El Aguacatal was founded over 60 years ago, in 1958, by Petronilo’s father Gumercindo Martir Martinez.  Don Petronilo de Jesus was elected as President of the Agriculture Cooperative to direct the production activities with several people and bring the coffee grown in Hoja Blanca to market. While he was president for 5 years, he then bought another 15 acres of farmland which kept him extremely busy. By 1966, he was producing nearly 300 quintales parchment (approximately 19 tons.) A quintal is a unit of mass that was used in ancient times. While the term “quintal” is not widely used today, some Latin American nations do continue to use it to weigh wholesale food.

The family that produced this Guatemala One of a Kind coffee is big. Petronilo de Jesus Martinez and his wife Demetria Castillo Recinos have 8 children, 23 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. As a working unit, they are unified and incredibly hard workers where most of the family is working in coffee at different levels. For example, Petronilo’s son-in-law Aurelio Villatoro, is an award-winning coffee producer. His son, also named Petronilo, is a forestry engineer. Now in his late 70’s, Petronilo still enjoys working on their farm to take in the sunshine and the sounds of rivers nearby.