Finca San Lorenzo, Guatemala

Located near the town of San Cristóbal Verapaz, in the cool, rainy highlands of Cobán, Guatemala, Finca San Lorenzo nestles in verdant hills at around 1,500 metres above sea level.

San Lorenzo is the Valdés family’s second farm, purchased in 1987 as something of a ‘little brother’ to another of our favourite Guatemalan farms: Santa Isabel.

When San Lorenzo was first acquired, only a small plot was planted with coffee. Today, the family has cultivated 20 different coffee lots, covering 110 hectares of the farm. The remaining 35 hectares are under forest cover, which the family actively conserves and manages in an innovative way (more on that below).

The Valdés family has generations of coffee farming experience under their belt. Finca Santa Isabel was first acquired by Luis Valdés II’s great-grandfather in 1875, when the land was granted to the family by the President of Guatemala. The farm left family hands for a time after being inherited by a nephew who later sold it, but returned to the family in 1960 when Luis Valdés I bought it back. He began planting coffee there in 1965.

Today, Don Luis and his son Luis Jr.—nicknamed Wicho—manage the farms as general and agricultural managers, respectively. Luis’s other son, Rodrigo, oversees the family export business, Agricola Valmar.

Now, the next generation—Luis’s grandchildren—spend their school holidays on the farm, just as their fathers did when they were young.

It’s a true family business—run with love, dedication… and a whole lot of expertise.