Finca La Bolsa
£0.03 / Pricing
GUATEMALA
María Elena Vides de Ovalle
Sanguinello oranges, muscovado sugar, fruity acidity, medium body, medium to dark roast
About
Finca La Bolsa is a beautiful farm close to La Libertad in Huehuetenango. This is terrific coffee growing country; the high altitude, good rainfall, moderate climate and useful shade all contribute to coffee from this area of Guatemala being known for sugary fruit notes and syrupy body. María Elena Vides de Ovalle inherited the farm from her father Dr Jorge Vides. Jorge was ahead of his time in the industry, concentrating on growing exceptional coffee for the burgeoning specialty market in the early 1980s. María Elena’s son Renardo Ovalle and farm agronomist Juan José Ariana, now manage La Bolsa and while continuing to innovate also take care of the family’s neighbouring properties. It has been an interesting few years at La Bolsa. They have recently converted one anexos (neighbouring farm) to organic growing. In a time where many organic farmers are decertifying, it is interesting to see another actively pursue this avenue. María Elena’s and Renardo Ovalle view certification as a way of diversifying the farm income, working with certified coffees along with specialty grades. We will have coffee from the organic farm Los Encuentros in our Organic Espresso later in the year. The family are active in the wider coffee growing area which has many small-holding farmers alongside the larger properties. They offer several community initiatives, including the La Bolsa school, a day-care used by the coffee pickers who need to leave their children throughout the day during harvesting, a coffee-school grant for students of La Bolsa who want to continue their studies and the Qawale programme, which assists the 400 small-holding farmers around La Bolsa with coffee growing information and good practices.