From January 31st to February 10th, I had the opportunity to attend the 2010 Roasters Guild Tour of Guatemala. I traveled with fellow coffee roasters from Ireland, Korea and the U.S. On this journey we experienced 6 of the 8 growing regions Guatemala has to offer, visiting small co-op’s up to medium/large sized estates and self-sustaining farms that generate their own power. We were able to experience the entire coffee process, from picking to pulping, washing, fermentation and drying.
Being my first trip to origin, this was definitely the trip of a lifetime. I met a lot of new people and learned more than I had ever imagined. It also brought to light how important our (Alterra) role is in the chain of the specialty coffee cycle. Our host, Anacafe was amazing and treated us like royalty and the Roasters Guild also did an awesome job of organizing the trip. I uploaded a few photos from 4 of the farms we visited and hope you enjoy them. Cheers!
- Blake Bauman
Roaster, Alterra Coffee















