Through our connection to coffee roaster Blanche Dael from Maastricht (the Netherlands) we visit Finca Beneficio La Esperanza in Antigua. On June 22, Loy, the manager of the coffee plantation, gives us an extensive tour. Sébastien of Efico joins us.
You can taste the passion!
Loy talks very enthusiastically and with a lot of passion about her work. Beneficio La Esperanza is an experimental coffee plantation. They give other fincas feedback on how to grow coffee. Not only the process of roasting the beans, but also the method of drying and the moment of picking is very important. The latter is not easy to determine primarily by the color of the cherries. For continuity, they also spend a lot of time and energy on soil management.
Todo mundo cree en algo. Yo creo que tomare un café.
Organic
The government in Guatemala sets a maximum amount of organic coffee to be grown. But the fincas can grow much more. Unfortunately, due to these government restrictions, they have to sell some of the organic coffee as regular coffee.
El Gran Café
After the tour we treat Sébastian (Efico) to a latte in a small coffee shop in the center of Antigua with the appropriate name El Gran Café.
Education to become a coffee specialist
Blanche Dael is also closely associated with the Escuela de Caficultura Las Flores. We visit this school on July 5. Wendy and a dozen of her students give us a warm welcome. All dressed in impeccable school uniforms. The shirts even feature their name. Wendy and a number of students start with a small presentation. This is followed by a tour and lunch.
The education program started in 2017. School days are on Friday and Saturday for 2 years in a row. A lot is taught on its own finca of 32 hectares. In addition to all scientific and technical coffee aspects, the education also includes a barista training.
Inequality
In Guatemala, many women do not receive an education. At this school they do get a chance. 30% of the students are women. In addition, for promising students who cannot afford the education, its possible to attend through a scholarship. At the moment there are 6 students in the program thanks to these kinds of scholarships. Blanche Dael supports 4 of them.
Scholarship
On behalf of our Foundation XPLORid, we offer a scholarship (2-year eduction program) to the 16 year old girl Evelin. Her parents both work on a farm growing corn and beans. Her father also grows coffee on a small scale. Evelin would like to expand her knowledge on working and managing a finca. She also wants to share her knowledge with the community she’s living in. This community is entirely focussed on growing coffee.
In the next two years we’ll stay in touch with Escuela de Caficultura Las Flores to follow her personal growth and school results. Good luck Evelin!
Of course we would like to grant more students access to a coffee education. For this we're looking for new donations. You can support our foundation through this link: https://en.xplorid.today/donation.