Alfredo Ramirez

Alfredo Ramirez

What began as an experiment has become a passion for Alfredo Ramírez. Five years ago, he planted his first coffee trees to test whether the crop could thrive on his land in Loma Bonita, a small mountain community in Tectitán. Today, Los Pinos (named after the pine forests that surround the farm) is a 0.88-hectare coffee farm located at 2,000 meters above sea level. Here, Alfredo cultivates Catimor, Bourbon and Caturra.

With the support of his family and technical guidance, Alfredo has steadily refined his farming practices. He embraces a new approaches to crop management while remaining committed to producing quality coffee. For him, the greatest reward comes at harvest, when months of dedication are reflected in every ripe cherry picked from the trees.

The Farm

Nestled in the mountains of Tectitán, Huehuetenango, Loma Bonita is a small community surrounded by pine forests, diverse native vegetation and abundant birdlife. Clay-rich soils, warm days and cool mountain elevations create favourable conditions for cultivating specialty coffee, while the region’s rugged landscape gives each farm its own distinctive character. Although coffee has long been grown in the area, producers are increasingly recognising its specialty potential, investing in quality and careful post-harvest practices to showcase the unique identity of the region.

Huehuetenango is both a large department (or state) and the eponymous capital city of that same department. While coffee isn’t grown in the city of Huehuetenango, it is abundant in the high altitude mountains to the west and north of the city. Producers are predominantly smallholders with around 1 hectare of land. In order to buy coffee directly from these smallholder groups we have installed a number or regional micro-warehouses and buying stations. This has both enabled us to receive coffee directly from the small holders and cut the transport & logistics costs for them; all while providing stable market access for these remote communities.