Antonio Gonzales La Nueva Montaña

Our third season with this beauty from La Nueva Montaña, a small farm located in El Palmar, a small municipality in the Fraijanes area of Guatemala, owned by Antonio Gonzales.

Antonio and his wife, Eby Aracely Samayoa, have worked hard to fine-tune their processing practices in order to have the best possible product. Their dedication has helped take their coffee quality to the next level, and the results are evident in the cup!

Antonio grows mainly red and yellow Catuai under shade trees of Inga, Gravilea, and Avocado. At an altitude between 1600-1800 masl, he makes sure that only the ripest cherries are handpicked. This is usually achieved through three picking passes across his plantation.

Antonio’s coffees are processed with utmost care and attention to detail at his mill, which is at 1200 meters - a bit lower than the farm where the plants grow, which means stronger sun and warmer days that are perfect for drying naturals. This year, with the weather a little cooler than usual, the mill’s location was key to ensuring good drying!

Only the ripest cherries are selected for this lot, and once the cherries are picked they are placed in clean, sealed plastic bags in the shade. Antonio knows that fermentation begins soon after the cherries are harvested, and years of experience have taught him that the best results come when this process is carefully controlled and as uniform as possible. He allows this coffee to stay in bags overnight for a short fermentation of no more than 14 hours, and then early the next morning the coffee is prepared for drying.

Antonio soaks the cherries in water to remove any dust or floaters (immature or malformed beans). Soaking the cherries also serves to lower the microbial count and homogenize the temperature of the cherries. They are then placed on raised beds to dry for about 20 days. When on raised beds, the cherries need to be turned frequently in order to ensure thorough and even drying. The cherries are turned four times a day while they are drying at regular intervals.

Antonio was asked about his objectives as a coffee producer, and here are some of his thoughts and dreams.

“Together we take care of the environment avoiding any contaminations. To produce honeys and naturals is a very important way for us to improve our income and the wages for those who work for us. Production of these special coffees also allows us to know our produce better”.

“We really want to support our children to be able to study in a University”.

We are very pleased to offer this coffee for a third time to support Antonio, his family and team of workers to fulfil their dreams of producing better, more interesting coffee and at the same time better his livelihood.