We like to think we have pretty deep roots in our community. We’ve been roasting Coffee in Durango for over forty years with family ties going back even further. But that’s nothing compared to the Barrios family in Guatemala. Juan Luis Barrios family has been growing coffee near the town of Jilotepeque for over 100 years.
The Barrios family acquired the land that would contain their two farms in 1832. They planted their first coffee trees in 1912 and still get coffee from some of those very same trees. The family believes that a commitment to proper pruning and maintenance have kept their older trees producing longer and with a higher quality than average and are not looking to replace them any time soon.
Once one large farm the Barrios family sold a portion to 650 other families in their community. Now the experienced farmers around Jilotepeque to supplement their own family farms and assists the Barrios family bringing in their crop.
Environmental Practices
Maintaining a healthy relationship with the environment is essential for the Barrios family. With their longtime ties to the area they are commited to using the best practices. This begins with water usage. During the wet milling process the family ensures that water is recycled and reused.
Wet milling is the first phase of coffee processing which consists of removing the pulp from the seeds, selecting the best-sized beans, fermenting the mucilage, washing, and then drying the seeds. Juan Luis uses recycled water to transport the beans as they go through the majority of the wet milling process. The beans are carried from the de-pulper to the size-sorter and then to the fermentation tank and washer with recycled water. Fresh water is then used to rinse the beans when they come out of the washer to be extra sure they have a clean cup. The fresh water from that rinse is then used again for future transportation purposes.
Excess water from daily usage and the wet milling process is thentreated with anaerobic microorganisms to lower the biochemical oxygen demand, thus making it suitable for future irrigation use. Juan Luis and his family “are always looking at ways to lower [their] environmental impact.” They “are trending to more precision farming, thus lowering [their] fertilizer inputs, applying efficient microorganisms in the soil to ensure it’s properly balanced so that [they] have healthier trees requiring smaller dosages of fungicide, using manual weed growth management as much as possible to lessen the use of herbicides.” Juan Luis also says that he does all of this, “even though shade-grown coffee growing is already carbon positive, simply because it’s the right thing to do.”
Shade Grown
The shade-grown coffee Juan Luis referred to comes from the pine trees he has intercropped between his coffee trees. This intercropping is good for many reasons. It leads to a more sustainable income for Juan Luis and his family as his trees allow Juan Luis to grow coffee year-round, even during the wettest of seasons. Juan Luis is also able to generate additional income for his family by selling lumber from the pine trees.
Juan Luis’s model of intercropping pine trees with his coffee trees also has a positive impact on the environment. The trees absorb more CO2 than what is produced on the farm, making La Merced & Retiro del Quisaya carbon positive.
The Results? A Great Cup of Coffee!
The result from Juan Luis and his family’s dedication to defect-free beans and careful protection of the coffee with pine trees is such good coffee that we couldn’t choose just one offering.
Because of that we have two offerings from Finca Retiro Del Quisaya. Our first is our Retiro Del Quisaya Washed Process. This coffee recently received a score of 94 from Coffee Review! Grown at 1750m above sea level this coffee is Richly-toned, deeply sweet, and complex. With notes of cherry, nutmeg, and dark chocolate. Try this excellent coffee today!
Our Other Offering is our Retiro Del Quisaya Natural Process Coffee. This coffee is an excellent introduction to natural coffees! Natural Coffees are dried with some or all of the fruit still on which creates unique flavor profiles and is environmentally friendly! Guatemala Retiro Natural Process is the same great Guatemala Retiro but a new process of the green beans this year that dries the bean in the cherry on the patio in the sun. The beans are turned meticulously to ensure an even drying process and a complex flavor profile.
