Irma Hernández, Finca Las Delicias and two more plots: El Barrial, El Duraznal

My husband passed away in 2019, so I have a much greater responsibility to the farm than before, and now I also have to support myself. Fortunately, I have a small grocery store where I sell basic supplies like water, toilet paper, and rice, but I often close the store for a few hours to work on the farm. My daughter Vanessa, who also owns one of our plots, and I sometimes hire help when it's too much for the two of us, especially during harvest season.

I always laughed at Vanessa when I noticed her enthusiasm for coffee, especially during harvest season when my husband and I let her pick some beans. But I have to admit that when I was little, I did the same thing.

My parents were the first in our family to cultivate coffee plants. Back then, they had to water each plant separately because there was no shade. Now, we have many trees that provide shade, such as the chilindrón, the cuajiniquil, the liquidambar, and oak trees—native to our region.

I am committed to continuously improving the quality of our coffees and offering microlots prepared using different processes. Vanessa and I are particularly interested in establishing long-term relationships with small, ambitious roasters from around the world. I already work with a roaster in the Netherlands and another in Australia.

When we work together over a longer period of time, we can gradually refine our batches according to a roaster's preferences and, together, prepare coffees that perfectly suit the tastes of our end consumers.