Guatemala | La Maravilla

La Maravilla is a family-run farm located in the heart of the lush Huehuetenango region, located to the west of Guatemala and near the border of Mexico.

The farm was first established by Guillermo Rosales and his son Mauricio, who bought the 25-hectare farm in 1997. They named it La Maravilla (‘’wonder’’) after their reaction to the beauty of the land. At the time they had just three Arabica coffee plants, but many ideas to develop a successful coffee farm. Back then, the farm was only accessible by horse or foot, and there was no sophisticated infrastructure, electricity or roads.

La Maravilla is located in one of the most privileged places in Huehuetenango. It was originally part of Finca El Injerto II which is considered the best coffee farm in Guatemala, having placed first in countless CoE competitions. In that same year, with a lot of faith, hard work and support from the other coffee growers in the region, the Ro­sales family planted the first 1.21 hectares of the farm. Some plants were donated by some dear friends and fellow coffee professionals and the additional 2,500 plants were bought from their neighbours at El Injerto.

In the years that followed, Guillermo and Mauricio carefully planted out the rest of the farm, using Bourbon seeds from El Injerto, and Caturra seeds from the region of El Pajal, in San Antonio Huista. Meanwhile, foundations for the first drying patio were laid and de-pulping equipment was purchased to process the harvest in 2000. Considering the pressing need to prepare for future harvests, Guillermo proposed cutting a road for four-wheel-drive vehicles, a project that received ready support from farmworkers, neighbouring producers and the wider Los Arroyos community. With pickaxes, hoes, and shovels on hand—not to mention tremendous determination—workers began working on the road in 2001. In 2002, the first four-wheel-drive vehicle ascended the road to the centre of the farm – a very exciting and transformative develop­ment!

In 2005, Mr Guillermo Rosales passed away at the age of 82. He left the world knowing that his dreams for La Maravilla had come to fruition and that the foundation to produce exceptional quality coffee had been laid.Mauricio’s son Luis is now involved in operations at La Maravilla.

Today, La Maravilla is run by Mauricio with assistance from his son Luis and farm manager Alfonso Mata. It has become a well-established farm with machinery on-site to process quality coffee, including fermentation tanks, drying patios and a treatment water plant, along with fourteen rooms for seasonal workers to stay in during the harvest. The farm is now twenty-four hectares in size, after the family acquired their neighbour’s land.

The Rosales family is very keen on preserving the local environment at La Maravilla, and are active members of the Private Nature Reserve Association of Guatemala. Part of the estate is reserved as natural forests of cypress trees and other local tree species, which provide abundant natural water resources to the farm. The farm also grows several types of fruit trees and creole avocados. All water used during processing is treated and recycled, chemical herbicides are avoided, and vermicompost material is applied frequently to reduce the need for chemical fertilisers.

Mauricio has carefully divided La Maravilla into six different plots, which differ in varieties: Pacayal (Caturra), La Peña (Pache), El Mezcal (Bourbon & Caturra), El Aguacate (Caturra), La Cumbre (Bourbon, Caturra & Pache) and Los Arroyos (120 families of Caturra & San Ramon).

The harvest season at La Maravilla is from January to April. For quality control purposes Mauricio and his team monitor every step of production, from hand-picking right through to final delivery, and carefully cup each individual day lot from each plot.

The topography of La Maravilla is steep and irregular, making harvesting very labour-intensive and time-consuming. All of the coffee is picked by hand by a skilled team of seasonal workers, who come from as far as the Quiché department, though most live locally and join the farm each year. They do multiple passes throughout the harvest to ensure only the very ripest cherries are selected.

Mauricio mainly produces fully washed coffees, such as this lot. Cherries are carefully sorted and pulped in a traditional wet mill on the same day that they are picked, using water from the Los Arroyos natural spring. Wet parchment is then fermented and sun-dried on Mauricio’s pristine patios or raised beds for 15-20 days. Once dry, the coffee is rested in parchment in a timber warehouse built on the farm.