Beyond being a kind, resilient and caring coffee producer, Randolfo Pacheco is an unflinching member of a resistance movement that is peacefully defending Indigenous Xinka lands and rights against an unethical and violent Canadian owned silver mine.
Randalfo has experienced a few challenging setbacks when it came to his coffee production over the last few years, (such as coffee plant diseases) but displayed incredible determination in overcoming them, while growing beautiful and meaningful coffee and actively participating in brave acts of defiance and land defence. He is an incredible person and we look forward to many more years of supporting his cause and coffee!
ORIGIN + VARIETY: SINGLE PRODUCER - Guatemala + Pache San Ramon
TASTING NOTES: dark candy + orange cocoa + caramel
ROAST: Medium-light
PRODUCER: Randolfo “El Sapo” Pacheco
FARM: Laguna Escondida
REGION: Sansupo, Mataquescuintla, Guatemala
ALTITUDE: 1750-1800 masl
PROCESS: Washed
SIZE: Available in 227g, 340g, and 454g.
GRIND: Whole Bean, Filter, French Press and Espresso/Moka Pot.
A letter from Randolfo Pacheco (translated from Spanish):
Dear friends,
Greetings from Guatemala, Sansupo township, Mataquescuintla, Jalapa. Thank you
for supporting our project, Cafe Colis Resistencia. I’m happy to know that you carry a
little of my efforts with you.
Although these are complicated time, the passion for coffee is more intense than
years before. We dedicate the time and love necessary to our coffees without ruling
our the sacrifices and risks that we live day by day. It’s obvious that our objective isn’t
only to improve the quality of life, but we are also committed to defending our land
and our natural resources, which isn’t something easy.
The important thing is to know that we have friends with a conscience who are
interested to be part of our team. Thank you Brendan Adams of Semilla Coffee and
all who bought our coffee.
Sincerely, Randolfo Pacheco
In the purchase of our coffee comes a free story
More about the processing method:
Cherries are collected daily and are depulped the same day in Randolfo’s brand new beneficio, featuring a Penagos ecopulper. He leaves the coffee to dry ferment for 36 hours, before placing it on raised beds to dry for 15-20 days.
More about Cafe Colis Resistencia
Cafe Colis Resistencia is the name created by Alex Reynoso to identify coffee producing members of the the Indigenous Xinka community around Mataquescuintla who are interested in developing an international market for their coffee, and therefore finally receiving fair prices for their work.
Within Mataquescuintla and area, nearly 90% of the population identifies as a coffee producer and yet, almost none of these producers have access to a market beyond
selling in cherry to local intermediaries or to large farms who process their coffee
and sell it as blended lots to their international market.
To make matters worse, Guatemala offers little to no support to farmers like those in
Mataquescuintla. Indeed, Guatemala’s history of coffee production has always erred
to the support of major landowners of European or Mestizo descent, and relied upon
the forced labour of Indigenous people to claim its place as one of Central America’s
largest coffee producers.
This monopoly not only keeps producers away from the market access they need for
truly sustainable prices, but it also keeps them away from technical assistance and
education that could propel them forward. As such, producers like Randolfo are left to
fend for themselves in this incredible challenging transition from a lifetime of selling in cherry to processing and drying their own coffee for sale as micro-lots. This lack of
assistance is only underscored by the closure in the last few years of Anacafe’s technical assistance office in Mataquescuintla. Despite being one of the highest
altitude areas in Guatemala, with some of the highest potential quality for coffee, Anacafe chose to remove themselves citing in part the protests against the mine.
Brewing Tips:
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ESPRESSO: If wanting to pull this medium roast as an espresso, we recommend playing with you ratios a bit to ward off a shot that might be a bit too bright. Try a 1:2.5 ratio, and grind a litter finer for a longer shot. We pulled this roast with 18g in, 36g out, at 34 seconds on our Silvia and it was great. But as always play around with it!
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POUR OVER: We recommend grinding a touch medium/medium-fine for this roast, 2-3 pours (post bloom). We use a 1:16 for this one.
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FRENCH PRESS: We recommend the James Hoffman method for French press: 1:16.67 ratio // medium grind (not too coarse) // add water, do not stir, brew for 4 minutes // after 4 mins break crust gently, scoop everything off that floats // let sit for another 5-8 minutes // don't press all the way, only use it as a filter at the surface of the brew.
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ICED COFFEE: Perfect as a pour over flash freeze brew. Use large cocktail ice, lower your brewing ratios and then prepare as you usually would!
