040: Guatemala Santo Tomas. Washed.

Guatemala Santo Tomas

Washed

Mixed Varietals

Origin: Mexico

Region: Union Juarez, Chiapas.

Producer/Farm: Jorge Gallardo / Finca Muxbal

Altitude: 1500 masl

Varietal: Castillo, Colombia & Caturra

Process: Natural

Harvest: 2021/2022

Importer: Raw Material

Cupping Score: 86.50

FOB/Volume: £7.26 per Kg / 69 Kilos

Roasted for Espresso/Filter Coffee

We taste: Stewed Berriees, Cinnamon & Sweet Pastry

The Story:

This lot comes from the farm Finca Santo Tomas Perdido. Santo Tomas Perdido means lost Saint Thomas. Legend here is that most of the towns surrounding Lake Atitlan are named after the Apostles because it is said that Jesus summoned a meeting between them in the most beautiful place in the world and the lake was Christ’s chosen meeting place. When they all gathered, however, they noticed that Saint Thomas was missing. They looked for him in the areas surrounding the lake, and finally found him where the farm is now located. When they asked him what was he doing there, he answered that he had just followed instructions, and was waiting for them in the most beautiful place in the world, the area that is now knownas Saint Thomas the Lost.

The farm is family owned, as it was acquired by Olga Alvardo de Torrebiarte and Carlos Emilio Torrebiarte, together with their sons Carlos Javier Torrebiarte, Diego Torrebiarte, Juan Torrebiarte and daughter Maria Jose Torrebiarte. For approximantely 20 years, the farm was managed by Carlos Javier, the agronomist in the family. However, the farm is currently a third-generation operation, as it is currently managed by Javier Torrebiarte, one of Carlos's sons.The farm has a staff of 125 full time employees with an additional 500 pickers during the harvest months of September to January.

The large farm covers an area of 1045.6 hectares. Approximately half of this area covers crop production and the other half is forest, including 145 ha of natural reserve. In this specific area Caturra is the most adaptable crop and delivers consistently excellent quality coffee. Villalobos, Catimor, Obatá, Sarchimor, Sabiá are also planted in the farm and are of incomparable cupping quality.Every year the family strives to improve their processing methods. One of the ways they achieve this is through implementing new sorting processes in the wet mill. For example, for the last three years they have added screens at different stages of their wet milling processes in order to push the top quality parchment even further.