Pascual Jimenez is a second-generation coffee producer with a long family history in Buena Vista. Pascual is a Mayan chief of a special committee of local Mayan people in his village. He is well known by the residents and respected for his wisdom. Today, Pascual farms Finca Familia Jimenez with his sons and his daughter-in-law. Pascual was the first coffee farmer in San Pedro Necta to work with Rosma Coffeelands and begin exporting his coffee through them.
Cherry is hand-picked and pulped on a drum pulper. Coffee is dry fermented in a tank for 40 hours before being washed in clean water and sent through a grading channel that separates parchment by density. Parchment is laid to dry. For the first 2 days, parchment is laid in a very thin layer and raked frequently to ensure even drying. After the 2nd day, they begin thickening the layers of parchment to slow down drying. It takes 8 to 10 days for parchment to dry. Once dry, parchment is placed in jute bags and sent to the processing plant in Huehuetenango to rest. Parchment is rested for approximately 3 months before being prepared for export.
Huehuetenango is well-known for its high altitude and consistent weather patterns. The region lies at a nexus of hot air sweeping eastwards from the Plains of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico and cool air rushing down from the Cuchumantanes Mountains. The meeting of this hot and cold air creates a microclimate that keeps frost in check and enables coffee cultivation at higher altitudes. Coffee production at 2,000 meters above sea level here is common. These conditions are perfect for producing the sparkling acidity and distinctive fruit flavors of the region.