The Best Coffee Tour in Antigua, Guatemala
If there is one positive thing Guatemala is known for, it’s their coffee production. So, naturally, when I visited in March 2023, one of the first things I searched for was the best coffee tour in Antigua. What came of this, though, was a beautiful experience beyond my wildest imagination. I ended up booking a coffee farm tour in Antigua, Guatemala, with Heart of Travel which gave me a peek into local living in Guatemala, the story of an incredible coffee farmer, and a coffee farm tour that exposed the injustices in coffee farming today.
While I, of course, loved the jolt of the just-harvested beans in my cup, it was more so the people and stories I heard throughout the day that inspired me and makes me believe, without a doubt, the coffee farm tour with Don Jose and Heart of travel is the best coffee tour in Antigua, and potentially all of Guatemala.
This post will share about the experiences and what you need to know about coffee tours in Guatemala!
What is the difference between a coffee tour and a coffee farm tour?
While there are a ton of coffee tours in Antigua and Guatemala as a whole, as you may guess, they’re not all created equal. A coffee tour could be like a café hopping situation where each stop is a different brew method or type of coffee, and you learn about the differences and how to identify them on your own palette. Whereas a coffee farm tour will allow you to potentially meet the farmer, learn how the beans are grown, experience how the beans are harvested, and more. It’s perhaps a more all-encompassing view of the entire coffee production process versus tasting the end product (which, you’ll likely also do).
How to choose what type of coffee tour to do in Antigua, Guatemala
Now, depending on what you are searching for from your unique coffee tour experience, there are a couple of questions I’d ask yourself:
Are you okay with going off the beaten path/ do you have mobility restrictions?
This tour was physical, in a way. You had the opportunity to climb up the dusty trails alongside the Fuego Volcano to see views unlike I’ve ever seen. But it does take some level of agility to do so. Plus, you may ride in the back of the truck, so if you’re not comfortable with that, you can ride shotgun with Don Jose, but it is something to consider.
Do you want the bigger story, or do you just want to taste some coffee?
For those seeking to learn about the people, the culture, and the process of coffee cultivation, a coffee farm tour in Antigua may be better than a straight-up coffee tour that just allows you to taste coffee from the eight different coffee production regions in Antigua. On the other hand, if you simply want a tasting experience, a café coffee tour may be just fine! I’ve done one of these in Cartagena, and it was delightful.
My Story: Our Day with Don Jose & Chelsea in Alotenango, Guatemala
Since Chelsea with Heart of Travel took care of all the logistics, our day was incredibly stress-free in terms of travel. That morning, Chelsea and a driver picked us up, and we went to a local fruit wine maker’s home, a chocolate cooperative and explored a little town. After those activities, we packed up and went directly to Don Jose’s home. We were greeted by his entire family with open arms. His daughter, grandchildren, wife, and extended family treated us like the most special guests.
The drive to the coffee farm near Antigua
Now, while Don Jose and his family live in the heart of Alotenango, about 30 minutes outside of Antigua, he doesn’t live on the coffee farm. Instead, we piled in the back of his bold blue pickup truck and hung on as we traveled down dusty roads beside the Fuego volcano, ducking for oncoming branches to reach his slice of coffee paradise.
He and other farmers each have plots of land with their own defined way of cultivating their plants to ensure they yield high-quality fruit year after year. As he spoke, you could hear the expertise and see the pure, unabridged joy radiating off of his smile and kind eyes. Which is important – because he sure as hell doesn’t do this for money…
Learning about coffee production in Guatemala
What I learned is that he is grossly underpaid for his efforts and the quality of his production. Essentially what happens is these small farmers sell to an intermediary who will roast the beans and then sell them to coffee shops and roasteries or big-name businesses like Starbucks. But the farmers don’t get a cut of that. They just get paid for the fruit they’ve harvested. And for all the crops he yields, Don Jose gets pennies compared to the intermediaries distributing his beans. And this is just the way the industry works. So, while I’ll continue sipping on my morning cup of Joe, I have absolutely become more cognizant of who I am supporting and where I am buying the beans I brew from.
You can search for bags that are certified Fair Trade to ensure farmers are getting their fair share of the pie.
Lunch with Don Jose & his family
To close the experience, we got to try a taste of Don Jose’s family’s famous pepian. Pepian is a national dish beloved by all Guatemaltecos. It is a stew that combines their Mayan and Spanish roots in one simple yet delicious dish.
They served theirs with warm blue corn tortillas that were seriously the best I’ve ever tasted. While you can eat the stew with a spoon, my favorite part was using the fresh tortillas as a tasty pepian vessel.
After lunch, we sipped on coffee from the farm, talked about cultural differences and life in Guatemala, and got to know our hosts. It’s that “sobremesa,” the talk after the meal, that is the reason I travel. It’s not taking what you see on social media or the news and believing it as true. The first-person accounts of what it’s like to live in a place and seeing how other people live through their own eyes is invaluable to me.
As we left, his grandchildren and their cousins gifted us with the most thoughtful handmade bouquets from flowers they picked. It almost made me tear up it was so sweet. This is the difference between supporting local and going on mass-manufactured tourist experiences.
Lessons learned from Don Jose
All that said, I can’t imagine learning about coffee or spending a day with anyone else. Don Jose taught me that life is what you make it. That despite the cards you’ve been dealt, despite your disadvantages, despite the horrific things you’ve endured or seen – you can still find joy, beauty, and gratitude in the little things. And honestly, you’ll be a hell of a lot happier than if you’re constantly dwelling on the negative or trying to gain more, more, more like we do in the United States.
As we walked through his farm, he smiled, took selfie videos sharing how happy he was to spend time with us to post on his newly minted social media account, talked about his time in the Guatemalan army during the revolution in the 1970s, shared about the Fuego volcano eruption in 2018 and how the tragic loss of his son-in-law brought he and Chelsea, and his community, closer together.
But despite the pain in his eyes and the transparent emotions, he still shared the beauty, the lessons, the internal trust and knowing that if you come back to yourself and your values – everything will be okay.
How to Book the Best Coffee Tour in Antigua, Guatemala
All that to say, this is so much more than just a coffee tour. It was an honor to be a part of it. I urge you to book this experience if you’re visiting Guatemala! This is your chance to experience it in a non-manufactured, beautiful way that creates a positive impact on the communities and families you visit.
Since this is such a unique trip, and Heart of Travel is the only one offering it due to their kinship and relationship with the family, the best way to book is to email hola@theheartoftravel.org and share that you’d like to book the Don Jose Coffee Tour! You can book on other websites where they post the tour, however, then a percentage goes to the big booking sites – so I always prefer to book direct.
Heart of Travel also offers week-long group trips to Guatemala, where you meet more locals, truly get to know the ways of life, and contribute positively to the local economy along the way. Muchicimas gracias, Chelsea y Don Jose, for the most impactful and moving day that’s so much more than just the best coffee tour in Antigua.
