This microlot from the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) is a very special partnership for us. We have worked with the CCDA & Café Justicia since before Little Victories was even founded, and their washed processed lots makes up our most significant coffee by volume purchased every year, as it is a major component of our house espresso blend, sunshine & perfect dark.
Earlier this year, Andrew & our quality and training coordinator, Kyle, had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala with a few members of the Café Justicia team, to assess the quality of the growing practices and also offer any insight possible to improve quality. One of the main things we were hoping to find, were smaller lots within the CCDA Members that we could showcase alongside their washed processed coffees. We ventured to multiple farms over the course of 8 days, and saw a diverse array of farms filled with wonderful crops & coffees, to farms devastated from roya that needed significant support.
Through these visits, we were thrilled to find out that the CCDA had highlighted four producers to make up two microlots, one honey process & one natural, and were able to express our significant interest in purchasing those lots to support these programs continuation and growth. The producers are Juan Barreno (and sons) from the community of San Antonio Chacaya, Maria Patricia Morales from Santa Cruz Quixayá, Gloria Alvarez, a teacher from the community of El Naranjo, San Antonio Palopó, & Abelino Gomez, a teacher and producer from the Chitulul community, San Antonio Palopó and these two lots showcase their coffees.
We cupped the coffees together with the CCDA team & Team at Dynamica, which is the mill where CCDA processes & packages their parchment for export, and were thrilled when they showed wonderful taste profiles and promise. We agreed to purchase more than half of the entirety of the microlots the CCDA had produced and are thrilled that these coffees finally landed.
These lots are a perfect example of a relationship that LVC has cultivated and demonstrates our commitment to work with smallholders, while working directly alongside producers. This is the first time the CCDA has ever sold their microlots, anywhere, and we are beyond excited to expand our partnership from having purchased their washed coffee for 8+ years, to now multiple microlots as well. It's partnerships like this that allow the CCDA to provide for their producers, and fulfills our goals of rewarding direct trade partnerships and relationships and it's something we plan to continue to do for years to come.
