About Finca Lindas Marias

For Daniela, coffee is more than a beverage. Rather, it is something that reminds her of family and bonds her with a community that comes together through the shared love and passion for coffee. Daniela’s family has been in the coffee industry for four generations, starting with her great grandmother and then her grandmother, Maria, who worked the farm and sold coffee locally. In honor of her grandmother, both Daniela and her sister have the middle name “Maria.” What’s more, when Daniela’s parents inherited the farm, they decided to call it “Lindas Marias.”

Daniela and her sister grew up visiting the family coffee farm on a regular basis. She fondly remembers playing in the drying patios alongside her sister and drinking coffee with biscuits in the afternoons with her family.

Located in Santa Cruz Naranjo in Santa Rosa, Finca Lindas Marias farm stands at around 1450-1500 meters above sea level. While the climate in that area is usually cold, this has been changing and becoming warmer due to climate change. The high altitude of the farm allows for a panoramic view of Nueva Santa Rosa and other neighboring municipalities, as well as various streams and plants including bugambilias, monsteras, and fruit trees. During the rainy season, various plants and fungi grow near the trees. Due to its beautiful nature and its emphasis on environmental sustainability, the farm has received certifications from the Rainforest Alliance and Starbucks.

A variety of coffees are cultivated at Lindas Marias: orange bourbon, pache, yellow catuai, and more. The farm’s orange bourbon was ranked 12th in a regional specialty coffee competition in 2018. Currently, this coffee is commercialized at Cafe Barista, a popular Guatemalan coffee shop, under their specialty coffee line. They have also proudly created their own brand – Lindas Marias Coffee – which is sold in local markets, specifically at San Carlos University and smaller weekend markets around Guatemala City.

Daniela decided to get more seriously involved with the family farm when she realized that her father was concerned over the coffee prices and other difficulties regarding the farm. Even as a college student, the idea of helping her family and the farm motivated her to get more involved and to learn more about coffee. Nonetheless, the economic obstacles are still the biggest challenges the farm faces but Daniela and her family are grateful for the support of Anacafe. They received a diploma in coffee quality management through Anacafe and learned everything related to the coffee supply chain: from agronomic management to the milling processes and production cost management.

In May, Daniela won the Mayorca Organics Scholarship, which was only given to 15 coffee farmers. Through this opportunity, she was able to represent Lindas Marias at the 2019 Producers and Roasters Forum hosted by Perfect Daily Grind in Guatemala. Daniela is proud of this accomplishment because it opened up business opportunities of meeting more buyers and roasters, including their first exporting opportunity to the United States.

In the future, Daniela and her family aspire to continue to produce specialty coffee with certificates that affirm their product’s quality. The Lindas Marias team and family hope to one day have a cupping lab and dry mill on their farm. Moreover, they aim to diversify their business with their brand Lindas Marias Coffee and to have more business opportunities for the farm to grow. These reasons have motivated them to learn about fermentation and to experiment with both honey and natural processes.