San Lorenzo

Luis "Wicho" Valdés III is a third-generation producer of two sister farms: Finca Santa Isabel and Finca San Lorenzo. Located in the hills around the town of San Cristobal, in the department of Alta Verapaz, in the Cobán region of Guatemala, Wicho grows and processes some of Guatemala's most sought-after coffees. Cobán is a coffee-growing region characterized by a humid climate and constant rainfall throughout the year, with an intense rainy season and a "chipi chipi" light rainy season. The farm, located at 1400-1500 meters above sea level and covered by cloud forest, grows Caturra, Catuaí, Bourbon, Sachimore, Obata and Tupí, among other experimental and imported varieties.

Luis Valdés I, Wicho's grandfather, bought the parcel of land now known as Santa Isabel in the 1960s. The original 10.5 hectares of Santa Isabel now extend to over 70 hectares. Wicho's earliest memories of coffee were visiting his grandfather in Santa Isabel when he was 10, where he grew coffee and sugar cane. Luis Valdés II took over the farm in the 1980s. At the same time, he also bought Finca San Lorenzo, which enabled the cultivation to be reoriented towards coffee and the preservation of the natural forest. Wicho began making weekly visits to learn all he could about coffee and the forest.

Wicho began making weekly visits to learn all he could about coffee production while studying agricultural engineering at university.

For twenty years now, Wicho has been producing quality specialty coffee at its two farms, Santa Isabel and San Lorenzo. Wicho also processes coffee at the Santa Isabel mill, which has been in his family since 1985. He uses different drying methods to adapt to Cobán's unpredictable rainy climate. Around 600 people are employed between Finca Santa Isabel and San Lorenzo.