Balanced and clean Villa Sarchi variety from our friends at Buena Vista in Guatemala. 
 
Filter coffee:
A complex, mineralic cup with layers of sweet cola, riesling, pear, grape, and milk chocolate.
 
Espresso:
Cola, brown almond, apricot, white wine, and a malic acidity offer a dynamic and balanced profile.
 
Cappuccino:
Smooth and soft: apricot, milk chocolate, and whipped cream - moreish!
 
The Producer:
Buena Vista Coffee Farm was the first coffee farm we visited in 2014. It's owned by the Zelaya family, who also run the Bella Vista mill and farm in nearby Antigua and are known as the leaders of the Antiguan coffee community.
 
Luis Pedro Zelaya runs the family business with a deep respect for its history and an eye toward innovation. He focuses on pruning, tissue management, soil enrichment, and preventive methods for plant health. A hallmark of Luis Pedro's approach on all the farms is a unique pruning system, cutting back every third row each year. One row is constantly growing new tissue, one is in peak production, and one is awaiting pruning. This helps stabilize volume each year and allows for even light and airflow.
 
In 2019, Luis Pedro built a seedling nursery at a lower elevation outside the city, where warmer temperatures mean the plants mature faster. One of his signature practices here is to graft the seedlings onto the rootstock of the robusta plant. The roots of robusta are heartier and can withstand disease and soil conditions better than arabica varieties. Though labor intensive, this practice mitigates risk without affecting quality.
 
Buena Vista Farm is managed by Luis Pedro Zelaya Aguirre and his father, Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora. Their quality standards for coffee production are high, and they focus not only on producing specialty coffee but also on contributing to the environment. The agronomic management of the farm includes crocheting, vegetal nutrition, prevention and control of plagues and sicknesses, and strict shade control.
 
Visiting Buena Vista and meeting Luis Pedro and his team (especially Melanie) have played a significant role in our story, and we are proud to call them our friends.