Guatemala Bella Vista

Farmlevel Story

The Zelaya family is a Guatemalan coffee powerhouse producing coffee for over a century. For four generations, they have owned and operated Finca Santa Clara, Finca Bella Vista, and Hacienda Carmona near the slopes of “Volcán de Agua”. Through their Bella Vista mill, they’ve expanded to dry mill and export lots from additional regions, like this blend from various smallholders in the Huehuetenango region.

Luis Pedro is the leader and visionary, blending decades of personal experience with cultivation and processing innovations. His impressive track record includes being the region’s first to implement “fertigation”—incorporating liquid fertilizer to farm irrigation—as well as popularizing drying coffee on raised beds in vented greenhouses to optimize drying conditions.

Without a doubt, his most ambitious recent endeavor has been the careful transformation of his farming operations to achieve regenerative certification. With the help of his right-hand partner, Melanie, a mix of academic theory and plenty of Youtube videos, their team has successfully eliminated synthetic fertilizers and pesticides across all their farms. They’ve also implemented impressive composting and biochar systems, aiming to boost soil microbiota populations and sustain healthy growing environments.

Committed to sustainability in every sense, they continually listen, learn and adapt. Despite these evolving practices, their coffee quality remains as consistent as ever.