Finca Filadelfia was the first farm in Antigua. The Dalton family honours its coffee growing heritage and the farm is currently being operated by the 5th and 6th generations. Coffee represents 214.64 hectares of the entire farm. Like most farms in Guatemala, Finca Filadelfia originally harvested cochineal. In 1864 the farm transitioned to coffee amidst a country wide recession. Cochineal was used to produce a natural fabric dye called “Carmine”. During the industrial revolution, Germany developed synthetic dyes, removing the need for the natural carmine colour. As a result, farms across Guatemala faced a devastating recession.

Manuel Matheu (Marta’s great great great grandfather) initially borrowed the land at Filadelfia, where he planted some coffee in 1864. After his first harvest, he went to London to sell his first crop. After returning from London where he achieved great success, he was commissioned by the President of Guatemala to show small
farmers how to grow coffee. Thus the Antigua coffee growing region was born. Eventually, Manuel’s son purchased what is now Finca Filadelfia. The passion for coffee has been passed down for 6 generations. Marta’s great grandmother Elisa ran the farm until she was 95 years old and won the first two Cup of Excellence in 2001

PROCESSING
Before being picked, the degrees Brix indicates which cherries to pick due to their deep red colour. After picking, the coffee is sorted. Once the sorting is approved, the coffee is weighed, and transported to the wet mill. Upon arriving at the wet mill the coffee is weighed again, and moved to the flotation tanks. After the floaters are removed, the coffee is pulped and then moved to the concrete fermentation tanks. The coffee ferments between 24-36 hours depending on the weather.

When the coffee is ready, it passes through the demuciliager. The coffee then is moved back to the fermentation tanks to rest in water for another 24 hours. From there the coffee goes to the washing channels where any less dense beans are separated from the more dense beans. The beans move to the end of the channel where they await transfer to the patios.

DRYING
The coffee is first dried on the patios for 3 days, and then finished in the machine dryer, where it is dried slowly at a low temperature for another 3 days. The coffee parchment is removed when it has reached its ideal moisture degree for storage.

Dalton Family

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Dalton Family

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Dalton Family

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