Farm: Small Producers
Trademark(s): Genuine Antigua Hunapu
Region: Antigua
Altitude (masl): 1500-1800
Farm size (ha): N/A
Wet/dry mill: Bella Vista
Average Prod (46kg) green: 615.38
Coffee varieties: Caturra, Bourbon
Shade: Gravilea
Owner: Various
Farm Managed by: Various
Harvest season: November - April
Annual Rainfall (mm): 952.50
About
Hunapu means "mountain flower" in the K’iche language (the most widespread of the indigenous languages in Guatemala) and it is also the indigenous name for Vulcan de Agua, a volcano located near the city of Antigua. At the foot of the volcano, the processing mill Bella Vista is located. Bella Vista is a farm and a wet and dry mill. The Spanish term for this type of facility is "beneficio".
Hunapu is a blend of coffee created at Bella Vista and it is made up of different small producers who own small 1-4 hectare farms around Antigua between 1500 and 1800 meters. Hunapu coffee is sorted into day lots/picking dates.
Specially selected coffee farmers deliver their harvest projections in the afternoon and this amounts to about 1-10 bags of cherry from each producer.
After delivery to Bella Vista, the coffee is wet processed and fermented for 24 hours before it is dried on the patio.
The majority of this coffee is of the Bourbon variety.
About Bella Vista & Zelcafé
Background
Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora (LPZZ) is the fourth generation in his family to be working in the coffee business. The Zelaya family’s first farm was Carmona, followed by Bella Vista, which where the wet, dry mill facilities, and Zelcafé staff offices were later built and are currently located.
For many years, the family’s business focus was on commercial coffee production and export but in 2000, LPZZ began developing and changing Zelcafé’s focus into specialty coffee/microlots, with the support of some early clients. Over time Zelcafé has been able to successfully transition the business into solely focusing on specialty coffee. For the Zelaya family, their coffee endeavours are not only about business; their aim is to provide a good basis for generations of their family and community to come. With this in mind, they are constantly looking for ways to provide jobs to as many families in their communities as possible, as well as supplying the best quality coffee they can to their clients.
Partnerships & Services
The family has worked with small producers in Antigua since they first started coffee farming. New relationships almost always come from introductions from families already working with the Zelaya family, ensuring close and stable partnerships. In addition to buying cherries from farms, Bella Vista also manages estate farms that owners don't want to sell but don't know how manage themselves.
The Bella Vista team take care of all the planning, execution and monitoring of the resources each farm they own or manage have: human, technical, financial, and knowledge/training. In the case of the small producers that they buy cherries from, the team not only buy cherries at a premium, they also provide technical assistance and the financing of inputs. Bella Vista is constantly looking to improve its agricultural activities to reduce chemicals to a minimum and in turn share their scientific knowledge with other farms.
Sustainability & the Future
Bella Vista continuously encourages its workers to get proper education and in special cases, finances education for some of them. The facility also often offers workshops on different topics. The Zelaya family farms all have C.A.F.E Practices implemented and in the coming years the family will try to implement a WaSH project at one of their biggest farms.
Other future plans include research on water treatment and the building of treatment plants and hopefully, the construction of another greenhouse.
