How One Guatemalan Coffee Farmer Is Preserving Her Family's Legacy

Meet Marisela

Some coffees are memorable because of where they're grown. Others because of who grows them.

Marisela's coffee is both.

High in the mountains of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Marisela manages her small coffee farm almost entirely on her own. Like many men in her community, her husband left to find work elsewhere, leaving her to care for the farm herself. Today, she oversees every stage of production, from harvesting and depulping to drying and quality control. Every cherry grown on her two-manzana farm, roughly 3.5 acres, passes through her hands.

"I don't want my coffee farm to fall into neglect," she says. "So I keep it up however I can."

That determination is reflected in every cup.

A High-Altitude Guatemalan Coffee Crafted With Care

Marisela's farm sits high in the mountains of Huehuetenango, one of Guatemala's most celebrated coffee-growing regions. The cool mountain climate allows coffee cherries to ripen slowly, developing the sweetness, acidity, and complexity that make high-altitude Guatemalan coffee so distinctive.

But altitude is only part of the story.

Harvest begins with careful selection. Only fully ripe cherries are picked by hand, then sorted the same day to separate unripe fruit from perfectly mature cherries. Marisela refuses to let the coffee sit overnight.

"I don't like the coffee to ferment inside the pulp," she explains.

Instead, she depulps every harvest the same day it is picked. The coffee is then washed until the mucilage is removed, soaked in clean water for two nights with regular water changes, and dried slowly until it reaches the ideal moisture level.

Nothing is rushed. Every step is designed to preserve sweetness, clarity, and balance.

A Women's Cooperative Built on Resilience

Five years ago, Marisela and several neighboring coffee producers began meeting with a shared goal: earning better prices and creating more stability for their families.

Today, that small group has grown into an official cooperative with 25 members, including 17 women and eight men.

The makeup of the cooperative reflects a broader reality across many coffee-growing communities in Guatemala. As men migrate elsewhere in search of work, women have become the caretakers of both the farms and the coffee.

They harvest, process, dry, and manage their farms while raising families and preserving generations of coffee-growing knowledge.

"Almost all of us know the whole process," Marisela says. "The washing, the drying, all of it. Nobody is going to tell us we can't."

Their commitment to learning continues through ongoing training, and it shows in the quality of every harvest.

The Biggest Challenge Isn't Growing Coffee

When asked about the hardest part of coffee production, Marisela doesn't mention weather or pests or fluctuating coffee prices. 

She talks about labor.

Finding workers during harvest has become increasingly difficult, and wages continue to rise. Yet coffee trees still need to be maintained, cherries still need to be picked, and every lot must be processed quickly to preserve quality.

"When the harvest is large," she says, "it's a fortune before anyone has even bought the coffee."

For small producers, the investment comes long before the return.

Why Direct Trade Matters

Like many smallholder farmers in Guatemala, Marisela has traditionally sold her coffee through intermediaries known locally as coyotes.

These buyers purchase coffee from small farms before selling it to larger exporters, who then sell it again further along the supply chain. Each transaction reduces the share of value that returns to the producer.

"The coyotes set the price," Marisela says. "We're the ones who own the harvest. That's our weak spot."

Her goal is simple: build direct relationships with buyers who recognize the value of the work behind every bag. That's where Gento comes in. By sourcing directly from producers like Marisela, we pay prices that reflect the quality of her coffee and help ensure more of the value stays with the people who grow it.

While the cooperative is still working toward the certifications and export infrastructure needed to sell directly, it has already begun participating in buyer events that connect producers with specialty coffee roasters. Even receiving slightly more than the local market price can make a meaningful difference for farming families.

Tasting Notes

Marisela's coffee is bright, juicy, and layered, offering notes of:

• Blueberry

• Ripe grape

• Sugar cane

The result is a clean, expressive cup that shines as a pour-over, French press, or drip coffee.

More Than a Cup of Coffee

Every bag of Marisela's coffee tells the story of countless careful decisions.

Hand-selecting ripe cherries. Depulping on the same day as harvest. Washing, soaking, and drying with patience instead of speed.

But above all, it tells the story of a woman who refused to let her coffee farm disappear.

The bright notes of blueberry, ripe grape, and sugar cane are only part of what makes this coffee memorable. The rest comes from the resilience, craftsmanship, and dedication behind every harvest.