About Finca Captzin

Finca Captzin is located in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, at 1,650 meters above sea level. The farm is named for its large stones that are very similar to the Piedras de Kab’tzin, ancient Mayan era stones that mark the entrance to the nearby town of San Juan Ixcoy. The majestic rocks are only one of the natural wonders on the farm - farmers enjoy the whistling birds while they are working on their daily tasks to produce a delicious coffee. Behind all that work there is one person who leads the team, Brenda Molina de Cifuentes.

Brenda became the leader of the farm five years ago and her goal has been improving the quality of the coffee and selling it inside and outside her country. She is very committed, rising at sunrise every single day to work and prepare for guiding the farm’s workers. It is true that her work demands much time and energy but those are no reasons to quit, because the love she has for producing coffee fuels her motivation to improve her coffee’s quality and generate jobs for her community.

Brenda makes her best effort every day. She considers that she can improve her farm’s market position through education and learning new methodologies. However, it’s not only plant, harvest, and process coffee. Her love and experience also contribute to making her coffee so special. Furthermore, she values respect, proactivity, and continuous improvement in her team and that drives them to give their one hundred percent best effort. She also supports them by paying for medical care for the farm workers when they get sick.

Brenda produces three coffee varieties: Bourbon, Pacamara, and Caturra. She produces three types of coffee: washed, natural, and honey. But the coffee quality starts with the cherry and Brenda uses a refractometer to measure the degrees Brix (sugar content) of cherries to ensure they are picked at their ripest. After washing, the coffee dries in raised beds or on the patio and workers regularly rake it to ensure even drying. This process takes around 15 days to be completed. Without a doubt, time and love spent in the production is what allows the farm to give the final consumer a perfect cup of coffee.

Now that she has accomplished a lot of her initial goals, Brenda wishes for new horizons. Her main objectives are to expand coffee production and produce more varieties of coffee. She will certainly work for success, because she has become a leader to follow and an example for all the other women working in a traditionally male environment to achieve their goals.