Coffee has been grown and processed on Capetillo since the 1880s. The first shipment of Capetillo to London was a small lot of thirty bags in 1889 (not to us). Originally, the farm was a sugar plantation, but slowly over almost one hundred years it was converted to a coffee estate. The waterwheels, which powered the sugar mill, were built in Glasgow by Mirrlees & Tait in 1865 and are still in place and functional. The farm is currently modernising the system to provide more sustainable power for the coffee mill. The farm lies in‑between the Acatenango and Agua volcanoes at an average of 1500 meters which is a bit too high for extensive sugar production but great for growing exceptional coffee. In June last year another volcano, Fuego, close to Capetillo erupted. Luckily for the team at Capetillo the volcano erupted from its far side, meaning that the initial ash, lava and stones didn’t reach the farm. Later in the week though, the highest areas of the farm suffered from a rain of small volcanic stones and the trees were damaged. The farm manager, Pedro, decided to prune back the affected trees, sacrificing ten percent of this crop in order to help the trees recover from the foliage loss. The shade of the volcanoes helps cool the farm’s micro‑climate ensuring a slow maturation of the cherries which along with the high altitude, careful selection and processing, produces delicious coffees from Capetillo, but unfortunately Guatemala lies on the Pacific ring of fire and eruptions and earthquakes are a frequent part of life here. We have shipped this year’s coffee from Capetillo and its sister farm Santa Catalina. The farms are now in a post‑harvest tidy up, pruning and application of compost phase. As Guatemala is currently in lock‑down, the people working at Capetillo and Santa Catalina have been separated into small, cohort teams which work in different areas of the farm.

Varietal: Bourbon, Caturra and Pache
Region: Alotenango

Finca Capetillo

We source and roast coffee from single farms, estates and cooperatives. When we taste a coffee that we like, we want to know where it comes from and who grows, picks and processes it. We travel extensively throughout the year, visiting the producers and cooperatives with whom we currently work and looking for interesting varietals of coffee and new farms from which to buy. During these visits we talk to farmers and cooperative members, learning more about the coffee they grow and process and the challenges that they face. We then look to establish a relationship with the grower and exporter of that coffee. We believe that where such a relationship exists, quality, quantity and price requirements can be discussed in an open and equal way. We see this as sustainable, fair and equal trade.

Finca Capetillo

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Finca Capetillo