Guatemala Trip, Part 3: Guatemala City
Next stop for our team: Guatemala City, where Servex provides dry milling, exporting, and logistics services for many of our Direct Trade partners. Founded more than 20 years ago by Roberto Batres, the company is now transitioning management to his son Genaro, pictured above with Roberto.
"Dry milling is an essential step in producing great coffee, and Servex has provided this service (among others) to many of our Direct Trade partners in Guatemala. After initial processing on the farm, there are numerous steps involved in processing and preparing parchment coffee into green coffee ready for export to roasters like us. Sorting is one such step, in which beans are screened and separated by size, density, and color."
"This sorting machine has three channels: the top or left channel is the A selection of the best (densest) beans; the middle are the B beans that get recirculated into the sorter, and the right are the C beans that are rejected and set aside."
"Servex does more than dry milling. They provide consulting, sampling, logistics, and exporting vital to the green coffee chain. Some essential services they provide go beyond business, to employees' well-being. They have dedicated space for a health clinic where, once a week, a physician is on-site to offer medical care for workers and their families free of charge."
