Pictured: The view from the drive to the farm, which is up on the highest hills you see in the background; the type of limestone found throughout the soil here; cherry ripening on the hills, with a view of Mexico in the distance.
Cerro Verde
cocoa powder, almond toffee,apple, fruit juice body
Producer | Gustavo Alfaro Altuve |
Region | Huehuetenango |
Elevation | 1400 meters |
Process | Washed & Patio Dried |
Variety | Caturra & Catuai |
Harvest | December 2018 - March 2019 |
Storage | GrainPro™ |
Relationship | Ninth Year Direct Trade |
Cerro Verde is one of the many lots we purchase from Hacienda Santa Rosa; Buena Esperanza is the flagship premium microlot, along with Pena Blanca. Cerro Verde is grown in between those two lots, right around 5000 feet above sea level.
The farm has a unique terroir, in a mountainous region of northwest Guatemala just a stones throw from Mexico. The soil is rich in chalky white limestone, which helps moderate soil pH (highly acidic soils can cause complications for plant fertilization). The weather is impacted by warmer winds coming down from Mexico, but that impact is moderated by the heavy use of indigenous shade trees (mostly Inga, a tree common in Central and South America) and preserved land interspersed throughout the farm, serving dual purpose as wildlife corridors/sanctuary and to moderate the climate.