November 28, 2025
One of the major pulls for us to Guatemala was the coffee industry. I had done a lot of research on different companies that offered them, but one that had stood out was De La Gente. They are a nonprofit organization that works with local small scale coffee growers that have formed a cooperative to make coffee growing possible for the locals.
It started back in 2014, the plantation that we visited is a part of the San Miguel Escobar Cooperative. There are 16 coffee growers that are a part of it, and they actually renewed in 2021.
We got picked up close to our hotel for a quick bus ride to the coffee farmer’s house. When we booked the tour, we loved the idea that it would include a portion of it that would include a stop at the house. As we made our way out of Antigua, the streets got rougher and you began to see the disparity from the “city” life to rural Guatemala.
The further out we got – we even saw local watering holes where women and children were gathered with buckets collecting it for the day. It was just such a stark difference from back home where we genuinely take for granted turning the tap on and getting hot water. Often times when we travel I’m left humbled and a little in my thoughts feeling both ashamed for complaining about things about utterly grateful for the things that I do have.
As we pulled up to our stop we were greeted by a group of dogs (Guatemala is definitely a stray dog country – not as many cats wandering around!) and our coffee farmer – Andres was out front throwing a biscuit at a rather sad looking puppy.
We had been in a van full of people, but about 5 of us had been called to get out and our groups were split up. We were with a wonderful gal, Ava, from Ireland, Haim, from Florida, and another woman from New Jersey who I don’t know how to spell her name! We had a short uphill walk to the coffee field with Andres, the translator, and someone else from De La Gente (DLG).
Once we got to the field we learned more about how Andres, how he got into the coffee industry, how coffee is grown, and how many fields he owns. It was really fascinating to learn Andres’ story and how much he sacrificed to become successful. He had grown up picking coffee for someone else, and then had spent 18 years waiting tables in Guatemala City while his children grew up to save money, and then finally had enough money to buy his own land to grow his own coffee. In the beginning he sold his coffee to big corporations, and didn’t make a lot of money.
Then came along DLG. DLG made it possible to form the coop, which provided the equipment for them to produce their own coffee end to end. The tours also provide about 30% directly to the coffee farmers themselves (at least according to the fact sheets that they provided to us).
We got to pick the ripe berries from the field and then made our way back down to his house. He told us all about how you need the shade trees and how the berries ripen at different times. Full growing process from a master!
You guys, like his actual house with his wife, daughter, and grandson. Incredible. We roasted the beans on his wood-fire stove with his daughter, taking turns of course.
Then they broke out their old lava stone metate – a long lava stone tool that is used to grind grain and seeds – and we took turns grinding the roasted coffee beans. We learned that the metate was passed down from Andres’ wife’s grandmother. It was at least over 90 years old, if not older. There I was standing in this man’s kitchen in rural Guatemala thinking about how many women had touched this metate. This man and his family had graciously welcome us into their humble home.
And I complain about the most embarrassing things. Haim and I shared a moment where everything truly just felt so small. Like our problems really aren’t problems. That really felt like the theme from the day, because Ava felt the same way as well. That we really don’t need all of these THINGS. As we’re standing in their kitchen and they were all just so happy.
So I started crying, just a few tears. I mean it was beautiful to think about something that was so unbreakable – so valuable – to be passed down from generation to generation. There we were, grinding out the coffee beans (rather poorly might I add) and drinking coffee with them.
I can’t recommend that tour enough.
From there, we made our way back into town and parted ways. Andy and I made our way to get empanadas for lunch. Before making our way to Casa Santo Domingo. We had made deep tissue spa appointments beforehand.
The facilities were incredible – it was a former convent that had been destroyed in one of the major earthquake. We got there early so we could swim in the pool, use the sauna, and the hot tub. By the time it was our appointment we were really relaxed. Both of us had incredible massages – we both thought we might have bruises from how much pressure our therapists were using!
After the massages we made our way back to our hotel. We freshened up and were trying to figure out what to do for dinner when I realize we were close to a speakeasy. It was a no brainer at that point and we made our way over there. The front was a wig shop – which was really funny – we were the first ones inside so we got our pick of the tables.
By the end of the night, after we had wrapped up and the place was full. I was seated next to one of the old school rotary phones and it started to ring. I looked at our server and asked him if I should answer it and he shrugged. So I did. I had to solve a riddle – and once I did I was rewarded with a shot.
Up Next: ATV tour on Pacaya Volcano
Scribbles and Snapshots 