Producer: Victor Calderón
Farm: Finca El Tambor
Region: Palencia
Altitude: 1,800 masl
Varietal: Caturra, Bourbon, Catuaí
Process: Washed
Roast: Light
Notes: Red Apple, Cocoa Powder, Nougat

Victor Calderón bought Finca El Tambor in 2001. Originally founded as a cattle farm in the 1930s, previous owners had cultivated Robusta and leased out mineral rights on small parcels of the farm's 700 hectares. When Victor took over he began renovating and replanting coffee plots, expanding areas under cultivation, and improving the farm’s small wet mill.

When coffee leaf rust began appearing at the farm, Victor was concerned about using the chemical fungicides widely recommended in Guatemala. Since fungi favor acidic environments, he tried several alkaline solutions to apply the plants. He read that volcanic clay is very alkaline, and his thoughts returned to El Tambor’s brief mining history. Little had been gained from the mines, but they did leave a lot of white clay behind—you can see him modeling some above!

After much experimentation, Victor created a recipe that has enabled him to prevent coffee leaf rust with minimal environmental impact. A solution of water and clay is mixed with a bit of copper-based fungicide and then applied to the underside of leaves using a sprayer.

Victor manages the farm with 8 people who are in charge of their own specific areas and duties. All employees have permanent residence on the farm, and 10% of the farm is given over to the workers to produce their own vegetables. Nearly half the farm has been left under forest, which is set aside as conservation area. In addition to the farm’s permanent workers, approximately 25 seasonal pickers are employed for the harvest.

We discovered Victor Calderón's coffee through our friend Genaro Batres of Servex.

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. 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.

Servex also provides consulting, sampling, logistics, and exporting services vital to the green coffee supply 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.