Maritza is a woman who embodies the term fabulous.
Unusually enough, she is not from a coffee producing family, but rather dreamed of becoming a coffee farmer from an early age. In 1997, she and her husband bought their land, Finca la Hierba Buena, where she has worked hard to produce quality coffee.
She has survived market highs and lows, boom and bust harvests, and even a dreaded plight with cancer. There have been times when Maritza was ready to throw in the towel after struggling with the industry norm of exploiting producers but her family wouldn’t let her give up her dream of winning Guatemala’s “Cup of Excellence.”
Having won the 5th Best Natural in the region and creating a Honey Process reaching a grade of 87.5 SCA, she’s well on her way to achieving her dream.
Farm: Finca la Hierba Buena
Location: San Pedro Pinula, Jalapa, Guatemala
Farm Area: ~18 hectares
Altitude: 1475-1600 MASL
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Pache
Shade Coverage: ~40%
Processes: Honey, Natural, and Washed with
extended fermentation in an anaerobic
environment and the addition of Cima yeast.
Maritza has a huge advantage when it comes to drying conditions- her mother lives in the village just down the road (or in this case, just down the
mountain) from where her coffee farm is located. While her farm starts at 1475 MALS, an altitude that brings cooler temperatures and wetter air, her mother lives at 800 MALS in the warmer, drier village of San Luis Jilotepeque. This difference in temperature, along with the use of shade cloth, means better conditions for more even and complete drying.
