About an hour directly east of Guatemala City lies Finca Siquem, in the town of Los Mixcos at the foot of Cerro Tomastepeque (2150 masl).
 
The farm itself tops out around 1700 masl, with the bulk of the coffee growing around 1500 masl. Siquem’s higher elevations are reserved exclusively for their Pacamara cultivation, which exhibits an orange blossom-like florality and caramel tones. The rest of the farm is dedicated to Caturra, Catuaí and Marsellesa, which they traditionally blend and wash, creating a super sweet, chocolate fudge-like cup.
 
Carlos Roldán began his career in coffee working for an exporter over 25 years ago, learning the ropes on the job in all the things that often fall through the cracks as far the “romanticization” of coffee goes. Contracts, deadlines, logistics, coffee milling and categorization — it’s a long way
from the world of latte art competitions or dewey, cool sunrises over a perfumed mountainside of coffee blossoms.
 
His time with the exporter, however, allowed him to develop relationships with farmers all over Guatemala, and serendipitously, gave him the inside track on knowing what it takes to have a productive, sustainable farm. That’s when, roughly 10 years ago, Carlos, his wife and children took the leap on buying Finca Siquem in Palencia, just a short drive east of Guatemala City. Siquem (see-KEM) had previously been owned by an older farmer with whom Carlos had worked, and when he was ready to sell, Carlos was first in line.
 
Taking over the 140 hectares, the Roldán family began right away to create a model farm for the region. Apart from the Caturra and Bourbon varieties that already grew on the farm, they began to specialize in Pacamara, and recently diversified into the cultivation of Marsellesa as well. While most of the coffee is washed and patio dried in the traditional manner, we were excited to collaborate with the Roldáns on developing their honey, natural and low-oxygen lines, in addition to receiving some of the very first coffees they dried on raised beds!
 
And of course, knowing the export business as he does, Carlos built his own dry milling facility right on the property, allowing Finca Siquem to control the entire process themselves up until the point of delivery to the ships at port.
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Farmer: Carlos Roldán
Region: Finca Siquem
Importer: Yellow Rooster
Process: Washed
Varietal: Marsellas, Bourbon, Caturra
Acidity: Citrus
Body: Medium, Well-Balanced
Elevation:1,400–1,700 meters
Notes: Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Mandarin, Cashew Milk