Coffee production began to develop in Guatemala in the 1850s was Central America’ss top producing country for most of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, until being overtaken by Honduras in 2011.

Coffee cultivation in Guatemala benefits from high altitudes and as many as around 300 unique micro climates. There are mineral rich soils and constant rainfall in most regions. While the country’s reputation as a producer of specialty coffee is common knowledge  today, it hasn’t been easy to get there. Guatemala’s long and bloody civil war between 1960 and 1996, affected millions of people, chiselled away at the economy, potentiated poverty, and created social and political disharmony that still haunts the country today. Coffee production really only stabilised and began to increase at the turn of the century, replacing avocado and macadamia production in numerous regions.