La Soledad San Jose Medium

The region of Acatenango is on the other side of the beautiful ancient city of Antigua’s two volcanoes (of three!). In 1963 Acatenango received two feet of ash, making the soil rich in phosphorus. Not long ago much of its coffees was transported to Antigua and sold as such. It is now recognized as a special terroir in its own right.

La Soledad sits below the live Volcan del Fuego. It receives warm moist air from the Pacific and often clouds over in the afternoon, while the morning is bright with strong shadows. The farm is 222 acres, half being natural forest, which the Perez family intends to maintain. The coffee trees are fairly heavily shaded with soil-enriching leguminous trees.

Henio Pérez's family has owned La Soledad, named after his grandmother, Soledad del Carmen, since 1895. Henio's son, Raul, works with his father to continuously improve their product. Raul now sample roasts on the farm and cups all the lots. They are also experimenting with several exotic varieties of coffee that we should be tasting in the near future.