Arcaffe - Dona Lucero Espresso 1kg

The whole-bean coffee from Guatemala roasted by Arcaffe in Italy. Medium roast, perfect for espresso machines and moka pots. The flavour is well-balanced, sweet, with a pleasant acidity of citrus.

The Doña Lucero project kicked off in 2020 in the province of Petatán, Huehuetenango region in North West Guatemala, where coffee cultivations extend for kilometres thanks to fertile soil and favourable climatic conditions.

The collaboration between Amka and CSC – Certified Specialty Coffee, of which Arcaffè is a founding partner, was initiated in 2020 with the aim of promoting the development of the production and the commercial opportunities of 80 small coffee producing women in vulnerable socio-economic conditions, in order to help them to improve their circumstances.

In Guatemala, as in most coffee-producing countries, the farmers are not aware of the quality of their produce and are therefore easy prey for the so-called coyotes, real speculators who buy the coffee at very low prices and then resell it to export companies. Often, the fees barely cover their expenses, but the farmers accept them because they are too poor, they need to sell their harvest quickly and have no alternative, especially if they are women.

The (successful) objective of Amka and CSC was to promote the development of the productive and commercial chances of these small-scale producers. Their training ranged from coffee production issues to the promotion of the woman’s role, from the distribution of agricultural materials and products to specialised assistance for the improvement of cultivation techniques, down to the harvesting of coffee.

Since the very first samples the experts of CSC Certified Specialty Coffee confirmed the high quality of the crop, and it immediately earned the label that the Consortium grants - as its name implies - to 'special' coffees, i.e. of great value. Thanks to this, the producers received a substantial premium – “an increase in revenue of almost 50%” - points out Amka, which shows how the effort towards a good work is recognised and repaid: an incentive to continue on the path taken, with no space left for speculators.

"Guatemalan women fight every day against a series of discriminations that impede their economic, personal and social affirmation," says Fabrizio Frinolli Puzzilli, president of Amka. " In these first two years, we have worked hard, and the coffee that has arrived in Italy, imported and purchased by CSC, is the story of the commitment and sacrifice of the 80 women involved in the project. Women who have strongly believed in the project and have worked hard to demonstrate their enormous capabilities as workers and producers. The coffee is named Doña Lucero, in honour and memory of Lucero, a Guatemalan woman who has worked with Amka for more than 10 years, a brave and true warrior. Her spirit and everything she taught us in so many years of field work are inside every cup of this coffee, which smells of freedom and autonomy."

To the question "What would you like a person to know about the cup of coffee they are drinking?", the almost unanimous answer of the 80 women involved in the project was: "The amount of work and effort that stands behind it, which is far more than one can imagine". Thanks to the price difference offered, compared to the market average, and the free supply of fertilisers, for the first time the women involved in the project felt recognised and valued. Moreover, this project is laying the foundations for some important changes, first and foremost is the economic independence. The payment for the coffee is in fact paid directly to the women, with the aim of emphasising that they are the sole beneficiaries and managers of the earnings coming from their work.