Benjamin’s father Tadeo (along with his 10 brothers and sisters) grew up in very poor conditions, Tadeo went without shoes and adequate clothing and the family struggled to meet their basic needs. When he got married he migrated to Mexico seasonally to earn money to support the family. He also managed to purchase some parcels of land and, bit by bit, began to improve the family’s livelihood. He planted coffee on small parcels he also inherited from his father that had previously been used for cattle and sugar cane.

Coffee originally offered Tadeo and many traditional landholders like him the opportunity for real and meaningful development. But more recently the volatility of the coffee market and low prices means that covering costs of production has become increasingly difficult. It’s an all too common story in Huehuetenango, that the future of smallholder coffee production is very uncertain. But there is hope.

With his children, Tadeo has been working very hard to tap into niche, quality- focused markets by changing practices: paying pickers more to grab only fully ripe cherries, depulping the same day, better post-harvest practices like clean fermentation tanks and dryers. By improving quality they’re receiving higher prices than ever before, they can now cover the cost of production of coffee and their living costs, and are increasing their living standards year on year. Tadeo had only two children to be able to send them both to school, which is a significant generational shift from the culture of having lots of children.

Ben, an agricultural engineer, is a technical expert in post-harvest processes, and he has been able to put into practice what he’s learnt academically on his father’s farm. In their own words: “We’re so happy to have found a final buyer who pays well, and it’s been a great pleasure working with us. They want to keep improving the quality of their coffee so we enjoy an ever-great cup of Guatemalan coffee. And with the higher prices we will pay, they’ll keep re-investing in the farm and in their quality of living”.

We’ve been buying coffee from Tadeo and Ben and Cornelius for 4 years now and this is the first opportunity we’ve had to purchase the recently planted geisha exotic. We’re stoked to represent this nano-purchase exclusively in Australia!

Pricing transparency: We paid Benjamin Q2500 per quintal (100 pounds of dried cherry), approximately 75% above the going price for non-varietal coffees during this year’s harvest