Francisca Rivera, Finca Malcincales

For some time, all my siblings were living in the United States…

Which left me to care for our land, all alone. That was a time of hardship and working days from dawn to dusk, and then well into the night. 

Luckily, I had learned working the land when I was still a little girl. The best months of every year were when it was time to pick the harvest. My dad would take me to the finca really early, when it was still cold and I would cuddle up against his warm, strong body whenever we sat down to drink some coffee. By the time I was twelve I picked cherries faster than he did, with my small fingers and agile hands.

I left school after third grade, I really didn’t like it and would much rather be on the finca with my dad and siblings. So, when all of them abandoned the land out of despair, and made the dangerous journey through Guatemala and Mexico, all the way to the US, I was as well prepared as possible to take care of our coffees.

Since then, several of them have returned and my son now does most of the work that I used to do. Now, I focus on drying and preparation, while also making sure that the best beans are picked at exactly the right time, when they have the exuberant, juicy ripeness of beans that are destined to end their long journey in a cup of Specialty coffee. 

But we’re not there yet. We just had a micro-lot that scored 84,25, so we are making progress and are hopeful to do even better in the near future. 

I also take care of my granddaughter when my son needs to stay on the land longer than expected. Although I didn’t like to go to school myself, I’m very aware that the world has changed and I will do anything to be able to afford better education for my grandchild. All the proceeds from the coffee are invested in her school-uniform, supplies, textbooks and whatever else she needs to become a capable and well-educated young woman who will have the tools to conquer her deserved place in the modern day world.

Hopefully, there will be some money left at the end of the school year, to invest in a solar dryer and prepare even better coffees for our roasters!

Farm facts

The farm is located at 1,370 meters and totals 7 hectares. 

The most important varieties are Pacas, Obata, and 90.

Shade was naturally provided by a local tree called ‘Malcincal’, hence the name of the farm, but there aren’t many left. So, we’ve planted guamo, madreado, pepeto, to make sure that there is plentiful shade for our plants.

We also grow oranges, mango and mandarins. The fruits are delicious to eat, the shade is welcome, and it adds a zest of enriched, citric flavor to the beans. 

Our coffee is FTO certified.

This farm is Rain Forest Alliance certified.