In the middle of the 1700's, the Jesuits brought the first coffee trees to Guatemala, as ornamental plants. At this period, Guatemala was not producing coffee, but they were very familiar with farming other agricultural products. By 1835, the government wanted to encourage the production of coffee, and to do so, they offered economic awards to those farmers who cultivated 20,000 pounds of coffee. In 1859 the first exportation of coffee was made, and it consisted in 383 60 kg bags shipped to Europe.
After 1859 the coffee production and exportation started to increase due to the high interest of the producers to be involved in this new product. In 1888 Guatemalan coffee was awarded for being an excellent product in the World Fest held in Paris. In 1940 the coffee exportations were suspended because of the World War II. By 1960 the “Producers Union” was created, which later became the National Coffee Organization “Asosiacion Nacional del Café” (ANACAFE). By 2005 the market of specialty coffee became more attractive for the Guatemalan Coffee and the producers have increasinglyfocused on the production of specialty coffee.
Today Guatemala has a very strong in-country support system for coffee producers. They also have a strong marketing presence to promote Guatemalan coffee globally. Guatemala accounts for 2.5 of the world's total coffee production. One of our green buyers, Luis (Lucho) Arocha, is from Guatemala and brings an intimate knowledge of the country to our buying team. Guatemalan coffee has been a staple of Cafe Imports' offerings since our humble beginnings, and seeing the increase in quality has been heartwarming. We can't think of many other countries where excellent coffee is in such high abundance. Marathon cuppings in Guatemala are invigorating and exciting; quite literally there is an incredible amount of low hanging fruit in Guatemala. We have many exciting projects here ranging from high-end microlots to impressive full containers.
For more information on coffee production in Guatemala, visit our Guatemala Origin Page.
