about Hoja Blanca
Aurelio Villatoro is the kind of coffee producer we love to work with: one who exemplifies hard work and hospitality. Beginning with only the farm his dad left to him, Villatoro has grown his corner of the world into a multigenerational family enterprise of small coffee farms in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, in a high valley called Hoja Blanca. Since the early 2000s, the Villatoro family has been winning national and international awards for the exceptional coffee they grow.
I had the opportunity this past February to stay in Hoja Blanca and witness the extraordinary hospitality of this family–not the least of which was Don Aurelio giving me his own room to sleep in while we were there. There were many memorable moments from the trip, but my favorite is the day we were out at the drying patios when it began to look like rain. One of the guys in our group asked Don Aurelio what they do when it rains on the drying coffee. Without skipping a beat, he handed him a rake and said, “Big piles.”
The next hour saw all of us grabbing rakes and raking hundreds of pounds of parchment coffee into protective mounds in order to cover it to keep it safe from the rain. It was a moment that really captured the spirit of the place and the Villatoro family — quick thinking, teamwork, and a lot of hands-on hard work. Aurelio's commitment to quality and excellence comes through in every cupping which is what makes me so excited to bring his hard work to you!
Trips like this remind me why I spend the time and energy to travel to farms, shake hands with producers, and see the work with my own eyes. It’s not just about finding great coffee — though we absolutely do that — it’s about knowing the people behind the coffee and sharing their stories with you.
