If you visit Antigua Guatemala, you're certain to romanticize the volcanoes that guard the old colonial city. Just south, framed by the Santa Catalina Arch, is the towering Volcán de Agua; further southwest are Acatenango and Fuego, joined together to form a complex known as La Horqueta, "the pitchfork." Locals speak of all three volcanoes with special appreciation and reverence.

Finca Santa Elisa Pachup lies on the lower western slopes of Acatenango within the department of Chimaltenango. At 506 hectares, it is easily the largest farm we buy coffee from in Central America. Around 360 hectares are planted with coffee, an area just slightly larger than Central Park. Elevations on the farm range from 1,200 to 1,700 meters - quite good for 14° latitude - and the coffee benefits from shade provided by native trees as well as cultivated Grevilleas...