History: Guatemala’s Inconvenient Truth, Pt 2

Specialty coffee changes the story for the indigenous people of Guatemala. Coffee as a tool of oppression finally offers hope....and then something a bit more complicated.

This episode explores the tension between the values of the Mayan communities who grow coffee, and the values that drive the specialty coffee movement.

Many of the signals we typically look for in our coffees - super-specialty flavours, Fairtrade certification, “5th generation family farm” - might actually exclude coffee grown by indigenous Guatemalans.

This episode might change what kind of Guatemalan coffee you buy.

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Read James’ article on Dieseldorf, the famous German plantation owner, in Standart

Pick up a copy of Prof. Ted Fischer’s excellent book Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third Wave Taste Makers Create Value

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