Wicho Valdés

Wicho Valdés and Santa Isabel are back in our Farmers series! This year’s washed Caturra is clean and crisp with green grapes, red currant and apple, wrapped in a smooth toffee sweetness. Wicho grew up helping his father on the family coffee farm and fell in love with coffee at an early age. After studying agronomy, he returned in 1998 to lead Santa Isabel into a new era. Today, he continues to run the farms with his family, and his three children already spend their weekends and school holidays among the coffee trees. Santa Isabel is located in the cool and rainy highlands of Cobán. Here, the coffee grows beneath shade trees at 1,400 metres above sea level. The coffee cherries are picked when ripe before being pulped, fermented and washed. The coffee is then slowly dried, first outdoors in the sun and then on raised beds inside well-ventilated greenhouses. This meticulous work creates a clean, balanced and nuanced coffee that clearly reflects both the farm and Wicho’s eye for detail. Nearly a third of the family’s land is preserved forest with cedar, pine and mahogany trees. The forest protects water resources and supports biodiversity. Careful pruning is particularly important in the rainy climate, as it gives the trees more light and airflow while reducing the risk of fungal diseases. Wicho also develops natural solutions that strengthen the coffee trees and reduce the need for treatments. This coffee has become a real favourite of ours and a recurring example of why Wicho is considered one of Guatemala’s most respected coffee producers. Clean, nuanced and every bit as well-crafted as we have come to expect from Santa Isabel. Coffee Facts Producer: Wicho Valdés Origin: Cobán, Guatemala Farm: Santa Isabel Altitude: 1,400 m.a.s.l. Variety: Caturra Process: Washed Flavours: Clean and crisp with green grapes, red currant and apple, wrapped in a smooth toffee sweetness