• Producer Gilber Escobar
• Attributes Maragogype, fully washed
• Origin Finca El Realito, Agua Dulces, Huehuetenango, Guatemala
• Flavour: Custard creaminess, lemongrass, a tropical vibe via vanilla & passionfruit, some complexity of aromatic herbs. It’s marago-rgeous!

The coffee of Gilber simultaneously excites us with its excellence and reminds us that the very existence of differentiated, smallholder-farmed coffee is balanced on the edge of a knife. A third generation coffee farmer, Gilber supports his father’s work commercializing coffee from the family farm, while also managing his own parcels (just this maragogype at 1800 metres, and borbon/pache).

But both this lot and Gilber’s presence itself cannot be taken for granted. Gilber reports that due to a lack of labour during harvest time 35% of the cherries remained on the trees – a devastating loss of carefully grown cherries.

The same labour problems resulted in greater difficulties securing ripe cherries – it’s just impossible to program the picking as frequently as required (ie, as cherries ripen). The result is that some of Gilber’s lots couldn’t fetch a premium. and those lots that do (such as this one) are reliant on “dios” .. meaning only the very peak of harvest has truly acceptable cherry ripeness, enabling goodness to be captured by default, rather than through solicitations of extra care on behalf of the pickers. Like many producers, Gilber knows that if he were to insist on careful cherry selection, the workers would simply walk off the job and go to the next farm where the owner’s demands for quality are less strict.

Gilber also reports that it’s raining more than normal right now. The harvest – already late compared to other places in Guatemala – will be delayed further this year (2025). In a region already characterized by the presence of few buyers (many have closed their operations in the region in recent years), Gilber fears that the quota of the remaining buyers may have been reached by the time his best lots are processed and ready. So – climate change affected harvest cycles and attendant issues with homogeneity of ripening, shortage of workers compounding the ability to secure ripe cherries, shortage of buyers.. Quite the list of challenges! How on earth can we confidently imagine we can continue to buy tasty coffees, how on earth do the producers manage to continue to produce it in such challenging circumstances? We can only keep turning up, pay the maximum we can, and accordingly try to provide a glimmer of hope.

Does Gilber feels hope? While he himself also spent time in the US (where many of the traditional labour force have illegally emigrated, in search of better futures), he chose to return and he chose to continue in coffee – in fact, he’s very enthusiastic about his work in coffee. And now we’re connected to each other.. And he’s hopeful that he can sell us more coffee this coming harvest. We tell him, yes we will buy more sir. With your support, this first purchase from Gilber in 2024 will just be the start. 

Roasted for filter brewing. Limited stock.

We ship coffee as whole beans by default, if you need your coffee ground, please let us know at the checkout.