Antigua · Coffee · Half day
The coffee fincas
Shade-grown coffee on the volcanic slopes around Antigua, from cherry on the branch to the cup at the end of the tour.
Volcanic soilTours & tastingsHarvest Dec–MarHalf a day
Photo: Pexels
Shade-grown coffee on the volcanic slopes around Antigua, from cherry on the branch to the cup at the end of the tour.
The valley around Antigua is one of Guatemala's most famous coffee regions. Rich volcanic soil, altitude, cool nights and dry, sunny days give its beans their full body and chocolate notes.
Much of it is grown in shade under taller trees, on fincas that climb the lower slopes of the volcanoes. Several open their gates to visitors.
Finca Filadelfia, just north of town, has the most complete tour, walking through the plantation, nursery and processing patios, and ending with a tasting. La Azotea in Jocotenango pairs its working farm with a coffee museum and a collection of traditional instruments.
Small-farmer cooperatives in nearby villages also run tours where you pick, roast and grind beans with a family. The harvest runs from December to March, when the bushes are red with ripe cherries.
What a finca visit covers.
See young coffee plants grown from seed before they go out to the slopes.
Walk among the bushes under shade trees, with the volcanoes rising above.
Follow the cherries through pulping, fermenting and drying on the big patios.
Learn how roast levels change flavour, and smell the beans coming out of the roaster.
Finish with a tasting, and buy beans to take home.
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Filadelfia runs a shuttle from town; La Azotea is a short tuk-tuk ride to Jocotenango.
Book tours a day ahead in high season; cooperative tours are arranged through their offices or agencies in town.
Cooperative tours put more of your money directly into farmers' hands.
Antigua practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
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