Guatemala Tinamit Coop Natural - Kaqchikel Producers

About the Producers

The Tinamit Tolimán agricultural cooperative, known as Tinamit, is a new cooperative made up of Kaqchikel coffee growers in San Lucas Tolimán, a stunning town on the shores of Lake Atitlán. These growers recognized that they were in a perfect location to grow specialty coffee and formed an organization in 2016 to market their coffees together. They formally became a coffee cooperative in 2018 making them a new organization with great potential to continue improving quality for many years in the future!

The 26 current members work on farms from 1500 meters to 2000 meters above sea level, and they also have a small roasting operation to sell coffee locally in their small store. They have worked to branch out into quality natural and honey coffees, though washed coffee remains the majority of their production. The members pay special attention to their role in preserving the remarkable natural beauty of the lake, and strive for environmentally sustainable production.

Processing

Tinamit has been experimenting with the natural process, and this year we were delighted with the quality of the natural processed lots. From the farmers of San Lucas to the coop’s processing center, and even to our own dry mill, attention to detail and strict quality standards have given excellent results.

This coffee is harvested by hand on farms in San Lucas Toliman, and delivered to Tinamit Toliman for processing the same day. Tinamit checks each delivery to ensure the cherries are fully ripe; any floaters are also sorted out before the coffee is depulped.

Once cleaned, the coffee is set on the patio to dry in the sun for 5-6 days. Only then are the dried pods moved to shade-covered raised beds to finish drying fully. On both the patio and the beds, the coffee is frequently turned to ensure thorough and even drying. The coffee is pulled from the beds when it meets the appropriate humidity for export; it is then delivered to our dry mill for dehulling and bagging.

Price

This coffee was imported by Primavera Green Coffee, a multi-origin specialty importer.

The FOB price for this lot was $4.78. [FOB price is the total price of the coffee up to the point of departure from the country; it includes farmgate/price paid to the grower, in-country transportation, and the cost of processing and preparation for export. It does not include the price of freight to the US, US warehousing, US customs charges, or the cost of moving coffee with the US.]

During the harvest season from January through March, the New York C price for coffee was an average of $1.89; the $4.78 FOB price for this coffee includes a significant premium for the farmer above the C market price, which reflects the excellent quality of this coffee. After being imported to a warehouse in the consuming country, the United States, the coffee cost was $6.75/lb. The cost of the shipping from the warehouse to our roastery made our final green price $6.90.

Avg. C Price (at the time of harvest): $1.89

F.O.B Price: $4.78

Ex-Warehouse: $6.75

Final Green Price: $6.90

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