GUATEMALA | HUNBATZ | WASHED

Hunbatz takes its name from Mayan mythology. In the Popol Vuh, Hunbatz and his brother Hunchouén are gifted artists, skilled in music, sculpture, painting and other crafts. Their story eventually sees them transformed into howler monkeys, with Hunbatz becoming associated with art and music.

The coffee comes from the Cuilco region of Huehuetenango, where smallholder families cultivate coffee in Guatemala’s northwestern highlands. Many households operate their own small wet mills, with harvesting, washing and drying forming part of everyday family life.

Hunbatz is selected from a producer-owned federation. Each delivery is cupped locally, and coffees that stand out for their quality are assessed again before Caribbean Goods makes its selection. The result is a coffee that brings together the work of individual families while keeping its identity rooted in the wider producer community.

Coffee cherries are harvested and brought to household wet mills, where they are depulped and fermented in buckets or tanks of water. The coffee is then washed through small channels to remove the remaining mucilage before being dried on rooftops and patios. Once dried and bagged, the coffee is commonly stored inside the family home until it is ready for collection.

Hunbatz is sourced from a federation owned by its smallholder members. Coffee is selected through quality assessment, with individual deliveries cupped before the best lots are chosen. Because the federation belongs to its producers, the value generated remains within the same producer network.

The supplier also states that a tree is planted for every 30kg bag of Hunbatz sold. Caribbean Goods, the sourcing partner, emphasises direct relationships, supply-chain transparency and clear information about producer payments.