Finca La Candelaria
Finca La Candelaria
Antigua, Sacatepéquez • Guatemala • 1600m
Finca La Candelaria sits on the outskirts of Antigua, at 1,600 metres altitude in the Sacatepéquez region. Three volcanoes guard the horizon: Volcán de Agua, Volcán de Fuego and Acatenango. The volcanic soil they have shaped over centuries is the foundation of everything that grows here.
Walk the finca and you feel it immediately. Four generations of the Zelaya family have worked this land, and that history is present in everything, in the way the work gets done, in the care given to every stage of the harvest. And in the end, in your cup.
Where fire nurtured the earth
Nowhere in the world is the presence of volcanoes so directly felt in the coffee as in Guatemala.
Volcán de Fuego stands less than twenty kilometres from the farm, and what it has deposited in the soil over centuries is invaluable: layers of mineral-rich ash that feed the coffee trees in a way no artificial fertiliser can match.
In 2018, the eruption of Volcán de Fuego destroyed part of the farm. In this part of the world, the volcano is not a backdrop, but a presence. Through sheer determination, Finca La Candelaria is still standing.
Rooted in the soil
Luis Pedro Zelaya is the fourth generation of his family tending Finca La Candelaria. He studied agronomy and brought that knowledge back to the land his family has worked for decades, combining generational wisdom with scientific curiosity.
Speak to anyone on his team and you notice it immediately. Everyone talks about Luis Pedro with the same conviction, the same pride. It's a testament to the kind of leadership that can't be forced.
His vision reaches far beyond the harvest. During picking season, Finca La Candelaria provides work for hundreds of people from the region. He invests in training and shares knowledge with other farmers across Guatemala, because he believes that strong communities and exceptional coffee go hand in hand.
One finca. Four generations. A crystal clear vision.
From volcanic soil to cup
At Finca La Candelaria, quality isn't simply assumed, it's verified.
At every stage of the process, from wet milling to the drying phase, the beans are sorted according to quality. Too light, wrong colour, wrong moisture level: out. What remains is the very best of the harvest. Beans that don't meet the standard are sold to large industrial blenders. What ends up in our bag is what's left after everything lesser has been removed.
This is one of the advantages of single finca coffee: you know you're getting the best of the harvest.
The cherries are hand-picked, washed and slowly dried on patios in the mountain air, in the shadow of Volcán de Agua. The result is a Guatemalan coffee that shows the best of its origin. Chocolate and cinnamon up front, forest fruits in the background, and a gentle acidity that carries the complexity without overpowering it.
1600m
Altitude
Washed
Process
Typica
Variety
84
SCA score