Quetzal - Medium Roast - Guatemala

Santiago Atitlan, home of the Mayan Tz’utujiles, is also home to Magarciy (formerly known as the Cooperativa Atitlan, El Paraiso Tzutujil R.L..) 

Magarciy is a family-owned wet mill that operates in the format of a cooperative, buying ripe cherry from around 1700 small producers in the surrounding communities. Working with Magarciy gives small producers around Santiago Atitlán access to seedlings, technical support and higher value markets. At the peak of harvest this year, Magarciy received over 600,000 lbs of coffee cherries in one day! Even with such a high volume, each lot of coffee is traced from the moment it’s turned in, through the wet milling process, and onto the drying patios. Magarciy also has an agritourism program, tends to a coffee nursery, works with experimental coffee varietals, and produces vegetables for income generation outside of the coffee harvest.

Elevate began a relationship with the Ramirez Family, who run Magarciy,in 2020 shortly after travel bands were lifted from the pandemic. We were introduced at the prompting of a friend, who owned multiple cafes in Antigua and Guatemala City and had a similar mission for the health and education for the children of Guatemala. We have visited the producers many times and began purchasing their coffee stateside from our friends at Kapeh Utz who have worked in direct trade as importers with this group since 2015!

Magarciy even hosts us for a seed to cup coffee tour during our group trips to Guatemala! We love returning year after year to visit our friends here. They are always so warm, welcoming, and eager to share their new projects and appreciation for our collective work together through the coffee and mission!