Finca La Soledad (Gesha), Guatemala

Finca La Soledad — Gesha Gesha · 1,650 m · Washed · Acatenango, Guatemala Hibiscus · Peach · Lilac Finca La Soledad is where the Pérez family's modern coffee story began. Purchased by Raul's grandfather and named for his wife, Soledad, the farm has remained in the family for generations. Today, Raul's father Henio and mother Mercedes continue to live and work on the farm alongside the next generation. This Gesha is a beautiful expression of La Soledad and the Pérez family's meticulous approach to cultivation and processing. Grown at 1,650 meters in the volcanic landscape of Acatenango and traditionally washed, it combines the variety's floral character with the sweetness and fruit of the farm: hibiscus, ripe peach, and lilac. The Pérez family has spent decades refining their approach to coffee, while continuing to experiment with varieties and processing in search of new expressions of their land. This Gesha is a particularly elegant example of what they are capable of producing. We are thrilled to begin our Pérez family releases with this coffee. The Pérez Family — Guatemala For five generations, the Pérez family has been growing coffee in Acatenango, Guatemala, combining a deep respect for the land and traditions they inherited with an uncommon willingness to experiment, evolve, and push coffee forward. In March, I had the chance to stay with Raul Pérez at Finca El Llano. Each morning, we sat down with coffee and watched Volcán de Fuego erupt across the valley. Those mornings gave me a chance to spend time with Raul not just talking about coffee, but about the farm itself — the soil, the plants and trees growing around the coffee, the wildlife, and his vision for what coffee farming can look like in the future. Much of Raul's work at El Llano is centered around regenerative farming: an approach that sees the health of the coffee plant as inseparable from the health of the soil and the larger ecosystem around it. Rather than treating the farm simply as a place to grow coffee, Raul is working to build a more balanced agricultural ecosystem, experimenting with ways to improve soil health, encourage biodiversity, and reduce dependence on synthetic inputs. It's an approach we have begun to see in small but meaningful ways with producers we work with in Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica, and elsewhere. What makes Raul's work particularly exciting is his willingness to experiment, observe, learn, and keep pushing forward — not because there is a simple formula for regenerative farming, but because he believes there is a better way to work with the land. El Llano is a relatively young chapter in the Pérez family's coffee story. Just a short distance from their longtime family farm, Finca La Soledad, the farm is where Raul and his brother José are exploring new varieties, new approaches to cultivation, and new possibilities for coffee from Acatenango. The farm sits between Volcán Acatenango and the active Volcán de Fuego, with rich volcanic soils and elevations reaching 1,700 meters. Finca La Soledad is the family's original home and has been part of the Pérez story for generations. Raul's father, Henio, and mother, Mercedes, continue to live and help manage the farm. The property was originally purchased by Raul's grandfather and named for his wife, Soledad. Today, the family continues to build on that legacy through careful cultivation, meticulous processing, variety experimentation, and an ongoing commitment to quality. These four coffees offer a small window into the breadth of what the Pérez family is doing. The washed Gesha from La Soledad showcases the exceptional quality and elegance that has made the family known in Acatenango. The three El Llano coffees — Yellow Catuai, Caturra, and the multi-variety El Brujo — offer very different expressions of the same volcanic landscape.