Finca Santa Clara Honey (14/15) - Guatemala

The Zelaya family has been growing coffee for over 100 years and four generations. This renowned family owns farms throughout Guatemala and grows one of only a handful of genuine ‘Antigua’ coffees (coffees grown in the Antigua valley area bounded by three volcanoes – Agua, Acatenango and Fuego). Finca Santa Clara is located on the fertile southern slopes of the Volcán de Agua in the Antigua Valley at 1,600-1,830 metres. Ricardo Zelaya has managed the farm, which was bought in 1974 by his Grandfather, since 1988 and is the 4th generation of the Zelaya family to have produced coffee at Santa Clara. Since taking over the farm, he has increased the size from 17 hectares of coffee plantations up to 95 hectares as well as building a wet mill, drying patios and a greenhouse to improve the processing of the coffee. The Zelaya family is passionately committed to both quality and sustainability. The family’s farms are scrupulously well-managed right from the careful selection of varietals planted, to the close supervision of the dry and wet mills. The coffee is shade grown, which protects the plants from direct sunlight, maintains soil health, and provides an important habitat for birds and insect life. The family’s mills are also eco-friendly and feature sedimentation tanks that prevent pollution of the local river systems. On Santa Clara, the workers are seen as members of the family, which is why, in 2010, Ricardo began a scholarship program to help workers pay for the education of their children. This program is funded by Ricardo and has the support of buyers from abroad, who have supported the cause since 2012. Managed, now, by his daughter Bel, who has a degree in Special Education, the dream is for the project to achieve formal non-profit status and expand to include not only all the children whose parents work on the farm but also those from surrounding communities Ricardo has been committed to renovation, investigative plantings and experimentation in processing from the very beginning. He produces microlots according to varietal and processing method (they do honey and natural processing as well as fully washed coffees, such as this lot). He is exceptionally forward looking with regards to the varieties of coffee cultivated, and he has also has established different plots of less usual varietals, such as Geisha and Pacamara, which will enable him to expand microlot offerings in the future. He is constructing a second greenhouse to dry larger volumes of coffee, as this type of drying improves the quality of the cup, and he is building a brand new dry mill (on site, with much of the machines being built by hand), which will give him better control over the final processing and sorting of his coffees. Santa Clara treats their employees like family, and many have been with the farm and the family for generations. For instance, the farm Administrator, Marcos Rompiche, has worked for the Zelayas for 22 years and is the 3^rd generation to work the land. The Production Manager, Israel Yool, has 16 years working for the family and is the 2^nd generation to do so. Including them, the farm provides work for 25 permanent employees year-round, all of whom help Ricardo manage the processing and production for Fincas Juaja, Santa Clara, Puerta Verde and San Augustin. The family hires an additional 332 additional individuals during the harvest (including 250 for picking alone!).   Video: Honey processing at Santa Clara   Every cherry on the farm is hand-picked and then sorted by hand before being approved by the foreman for delivery to the wet mill. The farm also hires ‘special pickers’ who have demonstrated particular dexterity and are selected to hand harvest some of the farms’ microlots using impressive attention to detail. These employees can receive more than double the minimum daily wage through picking coffee at the farm. According to Ricardo, although they are very demanding about picking practices, people come back year upon year, which is a testament to the fair treatment they receive. In fact, Ricardo’s employees recently made a ‘happy’ video for him and his family to express their satisfaction with their work environment. Regarding processing: Santa Clara only started processing coffee using the honey method in 2014, but they have very quickly perfected it. First, only the very best, perfectly ripe cherries are selected to be processed using the honey method. The beans are washed thoroughly in the receiving tanks and additional water was passed over them to remove any traces of dirt. They are then left in this tank overnight. The beans are then pulped and transferred directly to the African beds inside the farm’s substantial green house, where they are initially turned every 30 minutes. As the beans dry, the turning rate is increased to every 15 minutes to ensure uniform drying. Drying usually takes between 21 and 35 days, depending on the weather, to reach the desired moisture level.   Video: 'Special' Picking at Santa Clara for Microlots