May your holidays be filled with peace, love & kindness.

2024 Holiday Blend is a blend of two Guatemalan coffees. The blend is dark-roasted and features tasting notes of chocolate and cherry with a rich, full body.

The first Guatemala in our Holiday Blend is Jinaya S.A., a Bird Friendly certified coffee from Finca Santa Isabel. We sourced this coffee through TTCo. Approximately one-third of their farm is a private nature reserve, all of their crops are grown under the shade in an organic/biodynamic system, and they have a vermiculture program that produces its own preparations and fertilizers. The farm also works with pelibueyes (short-haired sheep) inside the coffee plantation, which help recycle and revive the green coverage. Santa Isabel is certified organic and was officially certified Bird Friendly in 2024 with 733 hectares of Bird Friendly habitat. 

"According to bird watcher, Fernando Aldana, who made a visit to Santa Isabel, he was able to see more than 100 species of birds at the farm, including parrots and birds of prey. Having birds of prey in a habitat also gives an indication that there is a great variety of conditions and food needed for these types of birds to thrive, which includes small mammals like mice and rabbits, reptiles, snakes, etc.  One of our goals is that our coffee reflects the originality of its place. For this to happen we believe that it is important that the crops and nature in general are able to express their impulses via the local flora, animals, insects, birds, biology, etc." Alex Keller, 4th Generation Owner/manager of Finca Isabel.

Farm History:

In 1899, Federico Keller settled in Pueblo Nuevo Viñas, Santa Rosa, Guatemala, and named the place Finca Santa Isabel in honor of his wife. The farm has strived to carry out certified production, conservation, and social development programs with the conviction of producing a coffee that truly reflects the originality and personality of the environment. The farm has its own wet mill, dry mill, and roastery, which allows it to develop different fermentation processes and drying and maintain excellent quality control.

In 1974, the Federico Keller School was built and donated to the Aldea Las Joyas de San Nicolas community, where approximately 294 boys and girls study from kindergarten to 3rd grade. A few years later, the Sacred Heart of Jesus church was built in this community. In the sports area, the farm shares a soccer field with the community, where tournaments are regularly played. To support the festivities and traditions, a marimba was obtained to play happy songs that are typical of the place. The farm also has a medical clinic and biweekly doctor visits.

Story provided by Café Isabel

Slideshow photos are courtesy of Alex Keller as well as Tony Barnett, Kevin Kehus and Stef Stevens when the CCR team took a trip to Guatemala in February of 2023. 

The second Guatemala in our Holiday Blend is La Revuelta Natural, a direct-trade coffee from Christian Starry of The Guat Lab. This is the second year we have used La Revuelta in our Holiday Blend. We value our direct-trade relationship with Christian and appreciate the consistent quality of the coffees he produces. Our team enjoys the uniqueness of these natural-processed beans.

This farm belonged to the Samayoa family since the 1800s. In the mid-1900s, the Samayoa farm was split, and this piece of land was inherited by the first cousin of the current owner's grandmother and stayed in her ownership for many years. The land produced coffee, corn, and beans. In 1995, the farm was purchased back by Christian Starry and his wife, Julia Valdes, and it was named La Revuelta. They immediately converted the farm to coffee only and have managed it ever since. In 2013, Christian Starry Jr. joined his parents in managing the farm. In 2016, they built their own wet mill on the farm called "Los Lirios de Belen." Belen honored the original family farm and Lirios, which translates to water hyacinth, a flower that Christian Jr.'s grandmother, Carmen Samayoa, loved.

Today, the farm is managed by Christian the father and Christian the son, who also built a wet mill and recently a dry mill so they can control the quality of their coffees from plant to port. They established new fermentation protocols to improve the quality of their coffee and also the coffee of neighboring producers.

Story provided by The Guat Lab.

Slideshow photos are courtesy of Tony Barnett, Kevin Kehus and Stef Stevens when the CCR team took a trip to Guatemala in February of 2023. They were able to visit Finca La Revuelta, see The Guat Lab Truth Trading Co. facilities and participate in cuppings with owners Christian Starry and Mario Alarcon.