San marcos

San Marcos is the largest town in our region. Including its villages and hamlets, it has about 23,000 inhabitants.

It is a small, but vibrant town and at the same time it is the regional center of commerce, health, and education, attracting people from all the neighboring mountain villages. Therefore, it looks more like a city twice its actual size. 

In San Marcos, we organize a variety of events, two of which deserve to be highlighted. In the month of April, we celebrate the patron saint fair, in honor of the patron saint San Marcos. Throughout the month, there are celebrations, festivities, and coronations. Tourists also come from neighboring countries, since both Guatemala and El Salvador are only an hour away from us. The second event is the Floral Games, that take place in the last week of October. In the Floral Games, the culture of our region, the fine arts and local literature are promoted. 

San Marcos is located at 970 meters above sea level. The climate is milder than on the coasts, but stillpleasantly warm, which is excellent for the drying of our coffees. Right after the harvest the dry season begins, so we can dry outside, and obtain a clean cup of coffee. The town is also strategically located in the valley that connects us to the Pacific Ocean in the south (El Salvador) and the Atlantic Ocean in the north.

In our mountains we have been growing coffee for many decades. Some producers are the fourth or even the fifth generation of their family working in the coffee business. And although San Marcos is 45 minutes from Mercedes, and although there are several cooperatives in the city and its immediate vicinity, no less than 25 San Marcos based growers are members of the Cafesmo family. They appreciate the emphasis on quality, fair price, and the preparation of micro-lots. 

Some of our producers have very small farms of one or two hectares. Most manage four to eight hectares. A few have more than twenty hectares. But regardless of their size, they all work with great commitment and all the farms are located well above the town’s location at 970 meters. Most of them at 1,200 to 1,450 meters. In some cases even above 1,600 meters. 

There is plenty of natural shade thanks to the pine forests that surround the area, and all of Cafesmo's member farmers have been actively working to create shade with timber and fruit trees for many years. Agroforestry received a big boost in the last decade and during the disaster caused by hurricanes ETA and IOTA in Honduras in November 2020, we realized how much the trees helped us to reduce landslides and erosion. 

Several of our producers dedicate a substantial part of their time to the preparation of micro-lots. They have direct relationships with roasters around the world. Many in European countries, such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden or Germany. Also in the United States, and in some cases with China, Chile, Taiwan, or the United Arab Emirates.

But, no producer can exclusively harvest and prepare specialty coffees, and besides, there is not enough demand for the large volumes that we produce, together, around San Marcos. So, we all dedicate ourselves mainly to the cultivation of quality washed coffees that we classify according to the different varieties. In this way, we can offer multiple containers of clean coffees, with attractive descriptors and consistent quality, to our partners and customers abroad. 

Technical data of the community

Area: 213 Ha approx.

Altitudes: 1,100 - 1,600 masl.

Most important varieties: Parainema, Pacas, Obata, Icatú, Colombia.

Member producers: 25

Approximate production in a harvest of SCA 81-83 coffees: 200,000 kilo. 

Certifications: Fair Trade, Organic, RFA