Our Story
Lost Coffee Traditions
Third generation or first generation producers?
Salvador, the third generation of coffee producers. Our coffee story revolves around life events that shaped us long before knowing we would be trying to grow the best possible cup of coffee.
As a child, Salvador remembers visiting his grandfather’s farm on the southern coast of Guatemala. He played on the old patios and admired the old machinery as coffee was being picked, milled, and dried.
Throughout all his youth, he kept strong relationships with his divorced parents even while he lived a couple years in Guatemala, and then a few in Mississippi, and then back again. By the time he was sixteen he had already lost his Guatemalan grandfather and his father.
At this point any chance of inheriting two generations of knowledge was lost. But he followed a strong instinct to pursue a life in coffee just as his father and his grandfather did.
The founder's land
His love for the mountain
We are here because Salvador’s father fell in love with this unbelievable paradise. Before we were passionate about coffee, our story begins with a passion for Guatemala’s best kept secret: Sierra de las Minas.
Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s Salvador’s father, Salvador Melgar D., an entrepreneur at heart, was in search for a business opportunity. In the early 80s coffee was just another drink to most people, like water, milk, and orange juice. But, Salvador’s father DID like to drink good coffee, and he noticed that coffee in this special micro climate was excellent to his taste (he was already a coffee connoisseur). Salvador’s father’s rollercoaster experience in Sierra de las Minas tells the story of how we ended up owning and protecting a large natural reserve that produces a special micro climate that’s part of the recipe for our coffee.
Getting Serious
Becoming Specialty Coffee Producers
2011 – Oportunity Knocked
My stepmom sold me what was once my father’s old coffee farm. That is how my personal coffee journey started to take shape.
2012 – A fresh start
Not knowing much, I just stumped all the coffee trees and vowed to return whenever they would sprout back.
2014 – Here we go
Coffee trees started to grow back… but I had no clue as to what varieties of coffee existed on the property, how to take care of the trees, or what to do with everything once the cherries would arrive.
Thankfully, my wife – Marielisa – was there, and even though she knew less than I, she had us enrolled in coffee school, urged me to get the old wet mill refurbished, and had us taking advantage of every learning opportunity possible.
2015 – Specialty Coffee Producers and Exporters
Our coffee was appreciated in several cupping tables we dared to participate in. We started meeting exporters, roasters and importers and our first commercial relationships resulted from that short after we graduated from coffee school.
2018 – SCA here we go!
First time at SCA, meeting all the big boys!
2018-25 – Never stop learning
We took some barista courses to further our understanding and sensory workshops. We took roasting classes at Anacafé and personalized workshops with kind expert friends.
2020– New Normal, New Web Order!
We launched our e-commerce website during the first year of Covid and getting “New Web Order!” notifications became an exciting part of our lives as coffee shipped from Guatemala mainly to the United States, and other countries like Canada, Australia, France, and Italy.
2024– UCC Second Place
Our Maragogype coffee received unexpected attention when we decided to enter the UCC contest.
2026– Cup of Excellence National Competition
We classified for the International Competition (results pending on June 4)
Today
Becoming Specialty Coffee Producers
We have developed our own style of doing things. We know what we want in a cup of coffee, we know why we do what we do.
The farm, time, and experience have taught us what to do and what not to do. Currently we produce avocados and Specialty Coffee. We have established relationships with amazing roasters in different parts of the world and we keep learning so much from them! We have ventured off in e-commerce, offering our coffee farm-direct with a special roast that we have carefully developed with the help of friends and experts. And now we are roasting in-house with an artisinal small batch roaster. While we do sometimes outsource the care of the nursery and the dry mill, in the rest of the process, from the seed to the roasted product, our coffee is always under our care.
What we are today is a husband and wife team with completely different backgrounds, doing what we both love.