The morning started off at Santa Anita with a minor emergency: one of our group had sustained a leg injury while playing soccer with the men and boys of the community, and needed to head into Antigua to get checked out. Our guide, Hugo, and Amanda headed off with him, and the rest of us piled into our minivans to head to Panajachel. Because it was New Years Eve, we were heading towards a day and a half of more vacation and less exertion. We bid farewell to our hosts from Santa Anita and set off.
As we drew closer to Panajachel, we had a chance to stop at an amazing vista overlooking Lago Atitlan (Lake Atitlan), which is where we were holding our New Years fiesta. The lake was stunning, with crystal clear water, and ringed by majestic volcanoes. After we arrived in Panajachel, we had about an hour to wander around, eat or avoid street food, shop in the market, and generally acclimate ourselves to a more touristy area. After being in Santa Anita it seemed a little strange to see people selling CDs of American music!
After grabbing food and a few souvenirs, we piled ourselves and what turned out to be quite a bit of luggage onto a boat to head to San Juan de la Laguna, the site of the Ecohotel Uxlabil. We had the ecohotel all to ourselves, and were excited to discover a hot tub and Mayan sauna (more on that later...). After settling into the hotel, we headed off to the La Voz Coffee Cooperative, where we had a chance to tour their grounds and sample, you guessed it, coffee. Everyone had different views, but a few people said that the coffee at La Voz was the best they'd had so far. We also got a chance to look through their guest book, where we saw the names of the GSB Guatemala trip participants from last year. Overall La Voz seemed to buy in to the marketing tactics promoted by ANACAFE, with lots of signage and some of their tour seeming geared towards a standard pitch. However, the cooperative seems to have been fairly successful, so perhaps that was the right decision for them.
By the time we headed back to the hotel, it had gotten dark, so we chose to ride back in the back of a pick-up, with 15 of us standing up Guatemalan style and hanging on to avoid flying out of the truck bed as we flew up and down the hills of the town. Showers and dinner awaited us, and soon after dinner the New Years festivities began. We had discovered an amazing 9-hour CD, courtesy of one of our drivers, Oliver, which had 30-45 seconds of many of the most popular songs of the last decade. Needless to say, there was a lot of dancing and merriment :) The evening was complete with legal (and scary) fireworks, and a visit down to the hot tub and sauna after midnight.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
This morning we headed to Fernando's for breakfast, and for some of his legendary coffee. The coffee was certainly delicious, but the winning ingredient was the fried plantains that came with our "tipico" breakfast. The tipico breakfast literally means "typical breakfast," and is made up of scrambled eggs, refried black beans and tortillas. After a few days in Guatemala, it has started to grow on all of us.
At 8:30 we got on the road to Santa Anita, a coffee cooperative with whom we will be spending the next two days. Santa Anita was formed by a group of ex-guerilla fighters after the civil war in Guatemala ended in 1996. They received land from the government and decided to form a coffee cooperative of over 30 families. After speaking with Anacafe, we were definitely interested to hear about the industry from the point of view of smallholder farmers.
The road trip to Santa Anita took about 3 hours, with the requisite stops by roadside fruit stands to sample fruits we'd never seen or heard of before (gumfruit, anyone?), and at a gas station for popsicles. The roads in Guatemala are impressively well maintained, although there were certainly some hair-raising passing incidents during the drive!
It was just about lunch time when we arrived in Santa Anita. The co-op has a fairly rustic, small town atmosphere, with cinderblock houses and hammocks under the trees. We all stayed in the "Casa Grande" which used to be the house of the owner of the land around Santa Anita, before the co-op got the land grant from the government. To abide by Guatemala's fairly conservative culture, and to facilitate clothes changing in large groups, we were split into 4 rooms, girls and boys separate. The rooms had bunkbeds, which made some of us reminisce fondly about summer camp.
Lunch was a hearty chicken soup with lots of fresh tortillas (yum), and afterwards we headed out to tour the Santa Anita property. We hiked along a huge canyon that was green and lush, and amazingly beautiful, and finally ended up at a 30-foot waterfall that crashed down from the rocks above. A few people were brave enough to jump in the water, but most just stood back and admired the view. It was a pretty amazing spot for our first experience in the Guatemalan woods!
On the way back to the center of town, we passed by the co-op's wet mill, which is where they take coffee cherries and extract the coffee bean. This is a complicated process which requires a lot of water and specific machinery. Once the beans are extracted, they sit in fermentation tanks for 18-24 hours and then must be removed promptly or risk spoilage. Usually there are only a few people within a coffee farming community who have the skill to manage the fermentation process, because it is quite complicated.
Back at the Casa Grande, we partook of the "rustic" (i.e. not very warm) showers and had a delicious dinner. After dinner, we met with the leader of the co-op, Rigoberto, who also used to be the leader of the guerillas during the war. Rigoberto only spoke Spanish, but his talk was mesmerizing to all of us. Amanda translated as he described his life as a guerilla, the decision to start Santa Anita, and his hopes and dreams for his family and all the families in the co-op. It seems as though most of the co-op families are trying to educate their children as much as possible so that they will have more opportunities in life. Coffee farming doesn't seem like easy work, so it's not hard to see why parents would want better for their children.
At 8:30 we got on the road to Santa Anita, a coffee cooperative with whom we will be spending the next two days. Santa Anita was formed by a group of ex-guerilla fighters after the civil war in Guatemala ended in 1996. They received land from the government and decided to form a coffee cooperative of over 30 families. After speaking with Anacafe, we were definitely interested to hear about the industry from the point of view of smallholder farmers.
The road trip to Santa Anita took about 3 hours, with the requisite stops by roadside fruit stands to sample fruits we'd never seen or heard of before (gumfruit, anyone?), and at a gas station for popsicles. The roads in Guatemala are impressively well maintained, although there were certainly some hair-raising passing incidents during the drive!
It was just about lunch time when we arrived in Santa Anita. The co-op has a fairly rustic, small town atmosphere, with cinderblock houses and hammocks under the trees. We all stayed in the "Casa Grande" which used to be the house of the owner of the land around Santa Anita, before the co-op got the land grant from the government. To abide by Guatemala's fairly conservative culture, and to facilitate clothes changing in large groups, we were split into 4 rooms, girls and boys separate. The rooms had bunkbeds, which made some of us reminisce fondly about summer camp.
Lunch was a hearty chicken soup with lots of fresh tortillas (yum), and afterwards we headed out to tour the Santa Anita property. We hiked along a huge canyon that was green and lush, and amazingly beautiful, and finally ended up at a 30-foot waterfall that crashed down from the rocks above. A few people were brave enough to jump in the water, but most just stood back and admired the view. It was a pretty amazing spot for our first experience in the Guatemalan woods!
On the way back to the center of town, we passed by the co-op's wet mill, which is where they take coffee cherries and extract the coffee bean. This is a complicated process which requires a lot of water and specific machinery. Once the beans are extracted, they sit in fermentation tanks for 18-24 hours and then must be removed promptly or risk spoilage. Usually there are only a few people within a coffee farming community who have the skill to manage the fermentation process, because it is quite complicated.
Back at the Casa Grande, we partook of the "rustic" (i.e. not very warm) showers and had a delicious dinner. After dinner, we met with the leader of the co-op, Rigoberto, who also used to be the leader of the guerillas during the war. Rigoberto only spoke Spanish, but his talk was mesmerizing to all of us. Amanda translated as he described his life as a guerilla, the decision to start Santa Anita, and his hopes and dreams for his family and all the families in the co-op. It seems as though most of the co-op families are trying to educate their children as much as possible so that they will have more opportunities in life. Coffee farming doesn't seem like easy work, so it's not hard to see why parents would want better for their children.
Friday, December 28, 2007
How to Prepare a Great Cup of Coffee
Anacafe offered several tips on how to prepare a great cup of coffee.
For preparation in a French press:
1) Coarsely grind whole bean coffee
2) Measure 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. cup into thouroughly dry French press
3) Heat water to 203 degrees F, or to the point when small bubbles have formed, but water is not yet boiling
4) Pour water over coffee grounds
5) Do not stir mixture; cover with French press lid and let sit for 4 minutes
6) Press coffee and serve immediately
General Storage and Preparation Tips:
For preparation in a French press:
1) Coarsely grind whole bean coffee
2) Measure 2 tablespoons per 6 oz. cup into thouroughly dry French press
3) Heat water to 203 degrees F, or to the point when small bubbles have formed, but water is not yet boiling
4) Pour water over coffee grounds
5) Do not stir mixture; cover with French press lid and let sit for 4 minutes
6) Press coffee and serve immediately
General Storage and Preparation Tips:
- Do not store coffee in the freezer or refrigerator, as moisture will deteriorate coffee bean quality
- Do not reheat coffee or leave coffee kettle on burner; additional heat will cause the coffee to become acidic and bitter
- Drink coffee immediately after brewing for best taste and temperature
- Brew with filtered, good-tasting water
- Roasted whole bean coffee in a sealed bag will stay fresh for 4 months; once the seal has been cracked, coffee will stay fresh for 2 months. Unroasted (green) coffee keeps for up to a year - make way for the personal coffee roaster!
This morning we headed to ANACAFE, the Guatemalan National Coffee Association, to meet with Christian Rausch, ANACAFE’s Chairman. ANACAFE’s offices are in Guatemala City, about a 10 minute drive from the Holiday Inn. They are a quasi-governmental organization, officially a nonprofit, that represents Guatemalan coffee producers.
Christian presented for several hours on the catalyst for ANACAFE’s surge in activity over the past decade, the characteristics of Guatemalan coffee, the services that ANACAFE provides, market conditions for specialty coffee, the technology they can provide to farmers to promote their coffee, and the environmental initiatives that ANACAFE has begun.
After Christian’s presentation, we took a short coffee break, and got a chance to sample our first cups of quality Guatemalan coffee. It definitely didn’t disappoint. Next we got a chance to hear from an expert in coffee preparation about different methods of preparing coffee from percolator to French press. Most of us learned that the way we’ve been treating our prep equipment, and storing our coffee is likely affecting the quality of our cups! Finally, we had a chance to taste test different varieties of coffee, Antigua, Huehuetenango and Rainforest Coban, that ANACAFE has worked to brand.
Lunch was a welcome respite from a very caffeinated morning, and allowed us to cleanse our palates and noses for the cupping tutorial that followed. We had the chance to hear from Ernesto, a 20-year cupping veteran, about the proper way to differentiate coffees by smell and taste. Cupping is a very similar process to wine tasting, complete with sniffing the bouquet of both grounds and prepared coffee, tasting and spitting, and comparing the aromas and flavors to non-coffee related scents or foods. Some of the ideas that the group proposed for comparisons were hops, popcorn, dirty diapers, and flowers, although the first three were in reference to lower quality coffees (thank goodness!).
Traveling to Antigua was next on the itinerary, although not before many people stocked up on quality coffee beans at the ANACAFE store. A short 45 minute ride later, we arrived at the Posada La Merced, a charming colonial-style hotel in the northwest corner of the city. After checking in, people scattered all over town, with some people heading out for a run, and others to the Sky Bar to try to catch a glimpse of the sunset and grab an aperitif before dinner. The sunset was a bit cloudy, but the view of the mountains ringing Antigua was well worth the trip.
For dinner, we walked just 5 steps away from our hotel to Fernando’s, home of the best coffee in Antigua. Fernando is a coffee roaster and would-be exporter, and had lots to say in his introduction to us at dinner. It was interesting to hear how different his perspective on the industry is from that of Christian from ANACAFE, and on how many issues they seemed to be somewhat at odds. He seemed to be much more focused on paying a fixed price to producers for coffee of fixed quality, instead of incorporating elements such as Fair Trade into his business. In addition, his response to environmental concerns was that the environment will be fine, but we will not be fine if we continue to do things such as deforest and leave the land vulnerable to landslides.
After dinner, we had a short debrief on the day, where the group discussed the perceptions we had formed of ANACAFE’s role or lack thereof in ensuring producers’ welfare and sustainability. I think we’re all eager to talk to some of those very producers over the next few days to get a fuller picture of what we began to see today.
Christian presented for several hours on the catalyst for ANACAFE’s surge in activity over the past decade, the characteristics of Guatemalan coffee, the services that ANACAFE provides, market conditions for specialty coffee, the technology they can provide to farmers to promote their coffee, and the environmental initiatives that ANACAFE has begun.
After Christian’s presentation, we took a short coffee break, and got a chance to sample our first cups of quality Guatemalan coffee. It definitely didn’t disappoint. Next we got a chance to hear from an expert in coffee preparation about different methods of preparing coffee from percolator to French press. Most of us learned that the way we’ve been treating our prep equipment, and storing our coffee is likely affecting the quality of our cups! Finally, we had a chance to taste test different varieties of coffee, Antigua, Huehuetenango and Rainforest Coban, that ANACAFE has worked to brand.
Lunch was a welcome respite from a very caffeinated morning, and allowed us to cleanse our palates and noses for the cupping tutorial that followed. We had the chance to hear from Ernesto, a 20-year cupping veteran, about the proper way to differentiate coffees by smell and taste. Cupping is a very similar process to wine tasting, complete with sniffing the bouquet of both grounds and prepared coffee, tasting and spitting, and comparing the aromas and flavors to non-coffee related scents or foods. Some of the ideas that the group proposed for comparisons were hops, popcorn, dirty diapers, and flowers, although the first three were in reference to lower quality coffees (thank goodness!).
Traveling to Antigua was next on the itinerary, although not before many people stocked up on quality coffee beans at the ANACAFE store. A short 45 minute ride later, we arrived at the Posada La Merced, a charming colonial-style hotel in the northwest corner of the city. After checking in, people scattered all over town, with some people heading out for a run, and others to the Sky Bar to try to catch a glimpse of the sunset and grab an aperitif before dinner. The sunset was a bit cloudy, but the view of the mountains ringing Antigua was well worth the trip.
For dinner, we walked just 5 steps away from our hotel to Fernando’s, home of the best coffee in Antigua. Fernando is a coffee roaster and would-be exporter, and had lots to say in his introduction to us at dinner. It was interesting to hear how different his perspective on the industry is from that of Christian from ANACAFE, and on how many issues they seemed to be somewhat at odds. He seemed to be much more focused on paying a fixed price to producers for coffee of fixed quality, instead of incorporating elements such as Fair Trade into his business. In addition, his response to environmental concerns was that the environment will be fine, but we will not be fine if we continue to do things such as deforest and leave the land vulnerable to landslides.
After dinner, we had a short debrief on the day, where the group discussed the perceptions we had formed of ANACAFE’s role or lack thereof in ensuring producers’ welfare and sustainability. I think we’re all eager to talk to some of those very producers over the next few days to get a fuller picture of what we began to see today.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Today was the start of our 10 day adventure into Guatemalan coffee country. However, when we all arrived in Guatemala City, first impressions were of a very modern city, much more similar to the U.S. than different from it. Two people, John and Sophie, were delayed in arriving, and Anna is unfortunately not able to join us. However, everyone else arrived without mishap and made their way to the Holiday Inn, Guatemala City.
In the afternoon, the first orders of business were food and obtaining quetzales, the local currency. After a short, but unproductive trip to Citibank, where they didn’t have an ATM and did not oblige our request to change money, we tried to pass ourselves off as guests at the Hotel Intercontinental to utilize their foreign exchange. Unfortunately, they saw through our ruse, and we ended up back at the Holiday Inn, where they had both an ATM, and a willingness to exchange our dollars. Armed with currency, we headed out to Tacontento, a restaurant with a striking similarity to Chevy’s, and a fantastic DVD of 80’s soft rock playing in the background.
After a satisfying meal, several of us headed out to explore the local mall, which came complete with the “GAP.” “GAP” is in quotation marks because, despite the logo on the front of the store, the clothing bore little to no resemblance to the establishment we know in the U.S. Nevertheless, undeterred, we pushed on and managed to supplement our wardrobes with various t-shirts and other items that we had somehow forgotten to pack.
Dinner was just across the street from the hotel, at the Hacienda Real, where we probably managed to eat a good portion of a cow between the 20 of us, and certainly enjoyed doing so! Post-dinner, a group headed out with our guide, Chris Eaton from Bridge Builders, to explore the best disco in the city. Jet-lag foiled any late night plans though, with everyone headed back to the hotel to get some rest after a short stop at Guatemala City´s hippest bar.
In the afternoon, the first orders of business were food and obtaining quetzales, the local currency. After a short, but unproductive trip to Citibank, where they didn’t have an ATM and did not oblige our request to change money, we tried to pass ourselves off as guests at the Hotel Intercontinental to utilize their foreign exchange. Unfortunately, they saw through our ruse, and we ended up back at the Holiday Inn, where they had both an ATM, and a willingness to exchange our dollars. Armed with currency, we headed out to Tacontento, a restaurant with a striking similarity to Chevy’s, and a fantastic DVD of 80’s soft rock playing in the background.
After a satisfying meal, several of us headed out to explore the local mall, which came complete with the “GAP.” “GAP” is in quotation marks because, despite the logo on the front of the store, the clothing bore little to no resemblance to the establishment we know in the U.S. Nevertheless, undeterred, we pushed on and managed to supplement our wardrobes with various t-shirts and other items that we had somehow forgotten to pack.
Dinner was just across the street from the hotel, at the Hacienda Real, where we probably managed to eat a good portion of a cow between the 20 of us, and certainly enjoyed doing so! Post-dinner, a group headed out with our guide, Chris Eaton from Bridge Builders, to explore the best disco in the city. Jet-lag foiled any late night plans though, with everyone headed back to the hotel to get some rest after a short stop at Guatemala City´s hippest bar.
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