Guatemala – Villaure

Additional Information

Aurelio grew up on his father’s farm, Finca La Esperanza. After leaving for school for a year, Aurelio returned to his home to help his dad on the farm and learn the ins and outs of farming. His ultimate dream was to have his own farm, which he purchased in 1986.He called it Villaure, which is a combination of his first and last names: ’Vill’, from Villatoro and ‘Aure’ from Aurelio. Since day one, he worked hard and dedicated his time to producing high quality coffee.He has been awarded many national and international awards.Villaure has competed in the Cup of Excellence four times. He has also been awarded by Illy as the Best Farmer in Guatemala and Best Farmer in Huehuetenango.Last season, Aurelio’s two sons joined the family business. They have been trying a few experiments.

Huehuetenango is often referred to as “Huehue.” Pronunciation guide: The “Hue” is pronounced like the “whe” in where. “Whe-whe”With altitudes over 2,000 meters, Huehue is the highest and driest region of Guatemala. It is only one of three regions without volcanic soil. Historically, it has been one of the more remote areas of the country and accessibility has been challenging. In the past, many farmers have used oxen or have carried their coffees on their back. Huehuetenango enjoys easy access to water sources, enabling many producers to process their own coffee. Guatemala is a country that has 12 different Mayan dialects and in many towns, people don’t speak Spanish. The challenges in working with smaller groups is sometimes the language barrier which is what is found. Also many small villages still have a bit of a self-policing, and don’t permit strangers into their towns/properties. Many of our introductions into Huehuetenango have been through introductions through our network.The 2021 harvest challenged farmers with heavy rain fall, dumping it’s much anticipated bumper crop. There was a large labour shortages impacting the number of pickers available during the harvest.

The cherries are picked between 6am-3pm. Once the picking is completed, the cherries are taken to the wet mill, where the coffee is pulped and transferred to fermentation tanks for 24-36 hours. Once fermentation is completed, the coffee is washed.
Drying
After being washed, the coffee is dried on the patios for 10-20 days until it reaches a desired moisture content of 10-11.5%.

Tasting Notes – Dark Chocolate, Black Cherry, Pistachio