From bean to cup, #ACoffeeJourney to Guatemala

?You can see how climate change is making the growers' job harder - they have to deal with new plant diseases, prolonged drought and erratic weather?. It’s the end of Claudia Sacchetto ’s second day in Guatemala. She’s Customer Engagement Specialist at NIMS, Italy and part of Lavazza Group Ambassadors who embarked on a journey to uncover the secrets of this country’s world-renowned coffee culture. She’s has just come back from a visit to a coffee plantation and is rather impressed by the effects global warming is having on Guatemala’s agricultural laborers.

The Ambassador Programme trip had started off a couple of days earlier in Guatemala City, the largest urban agglomerate in Central America, where the extremes that characterise the whole country are in plain view – skyscrapers drop shadows on shantytowns and sophisticated restaurants and bars alternate with street food vendor booths. Here the group had a busy day meeting with officials from Anacafè, Guatemala’s national coffee association, which represents more than 125,000 coffee-growing families. They visited its headquarter, where they were shown a lab that gives free technical support to farmers, testing soil and plant to develop better fertilizer, or sequencing DNA to check origins and find strains that are more resistant to climate change and natural diseases.

?It was very surprising to hear that Guatemalan coffee trees used to live around 40 years, whereas today they only last for around 15 to 20 years because of climate change?, says Mette Fiedler-Damgaard , Senior Marketing Manager at Merrild, Denmark.

After the visit, the group took a bus and found itself navigating the verdant mountains and mist-covered valleys that cradle the thriving coffee farms in the Antigua province, a few hours’ drive west of the capital.

The next day they’re ready to visit coffee plantations and get their hands dirty, working shoulder to shoulder with local farmers. The country’s reputation as a coffee haven precedes itself and, as they delve into this volcanic region, the aroma of freshly brewed beans becomes the backdrop to the exploration. Coffee is not just a drink in Guatemala. For many it’s a livelihood. Some local owners and workers have come up with a way to shun the unsteady dynamics of the global coffee market, working on a cooperative basis and producing organic beans grown with natural, plant-based herbicides and pesticides.

Our Ambassadors visit one of these cooperatives, where they try their hand at picking beans. They are shown how plants are pruned, coffee pulp is reused for composting, and farms are protected with natural barriers made of boughs, sand bags and rocks to divert water running down from other non-organic farm, potentially bringing chemicals with it.

?Hand-picking cherries was one of my favourite activities so far – it was such a humbling experience?, says Ben Cook , a Service Manager from the UK who spent the day working alongside a local lady who showed him how to choose, pluck and taste the cherries. ?I’m exhausted, but I’m happy and thankful that we’ve managed to come to such a beautiful country?.

The group visits a school intended for farmers’ children and supported by the Lavazza Foundation. It’s open during harvest season to provide care for kids so that they don’t have to spend their days in the fields with their working parents.

In the following days, the Ambassadors visit other farms to get a thorough idea of the whole production process – from growing plants to fermenting, sorting, and bagging the beans for exportation. While walking around a plantation, they see a mobile clinic providing medical services. It’s another project supported by our Foundation in partnership with Anacafè, to achieve sustainable, competitive and quality coffee farming.

?Doctors checked on many children and afterward we organized a small party with a pi?ata filled with an assortment of sweets?, says Nicole Ivers, Maintenance Technician from Kicking Horse, Canada. ?The most touching moment was when a little girl came up to me and gave me some of her candies?.

After their trips to the fincas, travellers take time to explore the villages surrounding Lake Atitlán, which are influenced by Maya culture, and the colonial town of Antigua. Nestled between three volcanoes, it offers gorgeous settings with pastel facades under terracotta roofs and sprays of bougainvillea bursting at every corner. There they do some cupping at specialty coffee shops and they taste Gesha coffee, which is said to be Guatemala’s finest.

?I never tasted anything like that. It’s mild with notes of jasmine and fruits? says Mélanie Mousseux , S&OP Cycle Manager at Carte Noire, France. ?It’s a bit like wearing a silk dress – it feels light and very soft?.

Savouring a cup of coffee, Alessandro Pappone , Senior Specialist in Global AFH Sales Process Improvement for Lavazza in Italy, contemplates the end of this journey into the traditions and craftsmanship of coffee cultivation. ?My intention in coming here was to enhance my overall understanding of the industry and witness first-hand the impact of my daily activities on the rainforest or on a family on the other side of the world. I think I’ve definitely got the insight I sought?.