Guatemala, Santa Isabel
ABOUT THE BEAN
Santa Isabel (Las Flores) is a fifth-generation family farm and is owned by Luis Valdés Sr and managed by his son, Luis Jnr but affectionately known to friends and family as ‘Wicho’. The Valdés family care a lot about preserving their natural environment and have dedicated one-third of their farm to a natural forest reserve.
Santa Isabel sits near remarkable mountains, with cool climate, plenty of rainfall and dense rainforest. Within hours of being picked, the cherries are sorted through a wet mill and graded by weight, pulped immediately and fermented for up to 14 hours. It is soaked for 24 hours and dried in the sun for 7-10 days until it reaches desired humidity then transferred to greenhouse for a further 15-30 days to dry on raised beds.