We are very excited to share great news about the latest achievement of one of our producer partners and directors: Francisco Quezada a.k.a. Chespi, whose coffee occupied the 6th place in the Cup of Excellence contest that took place this past month!
Discover what is behind this amazing coffee and why it stood out this year taking a spot in the top 10.
Chespi is a third generation coffee producer and director of Montenegro Farms, he is directly involved in everything related to innovation and exports. His five year experience with certified processing and innovation has allowed him to build amazing new profiles. As Chespi says, “More than working on innovation, is discovering the full potential of his coffees through replicating, and creating consistent coffees under different processes.”
To him the fact of getting new cup profiles has been the key to stand out of the traditional Guatemalan coffees which are also an excellent traditional washed coffee.
To the Cup of Excellence contest he submitted a natural process Bourbon from Finca La Labor, which occupied the 6th place with a score of 89.57, a very satisfying score for his beloved Geisha.
Education, the Source for Achieving Quality of Excellence
Chespi explains that four years ago he started to get more curious about coffee processing and this is when he began his first honeys and naturals trials. Thanks to his trip to France he understood the impact of yeasts and extended fermentations in order to differentiate the cup profiles.
In addition to that, Chespi says “Having the opportunity to access training through the C.Q.I. in order to understand the foundations of all the practical knowledge we already had, such as the chemistry behind the functioning fermentation processes, has allowed us to get more consistent coffees every year”.
The Specialty Market is About Relationships, Not Scores
Making such a big effort to create new categories at his farm has resulted in new partnerships that put both ends of the chain needs in the same scenario. Chespi explains that it is not longer about the score, it's about creating and sharing new profiles he can replicate that also works for his clients.
“All this at the end turns into something special because it’s not just a business deal, but a business relationship.” Chespi says.
We are so proud of his hard work that also brings us new learnings and increases the motivation to keep positioning the innovations of Guatemalan coffees worldwide. A shout-out to Montenegro Farms for such great work, keep it up!