Luis “Wicho” Valdés III is the third-generation producer of Finca Santa Isabel and Finca San Lorenzo. Located among the rolling hills of the San Cristobal town in the department of Alta Verapaz in the Cobán region of Guatemala, Wicho cultivates and processes one of Guatemala’s most sought-after coffees. Cobán is a coffee growing region characterized by its humid weather and constant rainfall all throughout the year, with an intense rainy season and a light ‘chipi chipi’ rainy season. In this cloud forested farm, located 1400-1500 meters above sea level, grows: Caturra, Catuaí, Bourbon, Sachimor, Obata, and Tupí among other experimental and imported varieties. Luis Valdés I, Wicho’s grandfather, purchased the plot of land now known as Santa Isabel in the 1960s. The initial 10.5 hectares that made-up Santa Isabel, now span over 70 hectares of coffee growing land. Wicho’s first memories in coffee consisted of visiting his grandfather at Santa Isabel when he was 10 years old, where he grew coffee and sugarcane. Luis Valdés II took over the farm in the 1980s. At that time he also purchased Finca San Lorenzo, shifting the focus of cultivation solely to coffee and the preservation of the natural forest. Wicho began making weekly visits to learn everything he could about producing coffee while studying agricultural engineering in university and graduating in 1999. For the past twenty years, Wicho has been producing quality specialty coffee on both of his farms, Santa Isabel and San Lorenzo. Wicho also processes the coffee at Santa Isabel’s mill, which has been in his family since 1985. He uses various methods of drying to adjust to the unpredictable rainy climate of Cobán. Around 600 locals are employed on Finca Santa Isabel and San Lorenzo. All of the employees are from the towns of San Cristobal, Cobán or the surrounding small communities. The managerial style and planning for each harvest along with the hard work of everyone on the farms, lends to a unique sustainable specialty coffee we can enjoy for years to come.