One particularly unexpected joy in operating the way we do is getting to know more about each producer’s circumstances and how they affect each year’s output. Due to travel restrictions during COVID, it took a few years to hear the full extent of Agapito Lopez’s story but we finally got a true glimpse after the stalwart sourcerer we work with in Guatemala, Michelle Stoler from Shared Source was able to meet up with Agapito in Paquix, Huehuetenango. 

Turns out Agapito lives more than a few hours away (via bus) from his coffee farm. During harvest, he will come and stay for a few weeks on the farm, under what could best be described as a “lean-to” while cherries are collected, pre-processed and delivered to the ASDEFLOR co-op for final milling. That Agapito’s coffee makes it off the trees at all is a small miracle in itself!

Sitting at 1,700 meters above sea level, Agapito’s setup is famously one-of-a-kind. Not having seen it with our very own eyes, it eludes easy description, but Michelle intimated it to be a wild, rustic, DIY-OR-DIE operation that defies expectations, year after year, with superbly sweet and satisfying coffees. This reputation, in tandem with our years of simply loving the results, conjures up a quasi-mythical heroism in our minds’ eyes when we think of Agapito, one that’s only reinforced by his endless ability to reinvent his signature flavor profile based on the eccentricities of every harvest.

This year, the coffee goes heavy into LIP-SMACKING territory, conjuring tactile calls that lean into MELON, MARSHMALLOW and GUMMI BEAR zones. This field blend is fully-washed with no out-of-bounds fermentation shenanigans, so it just IS that unique and special. Another highlight of our buying year.