Guatemala - Antigua - Finca Gascon - Caturra - Lactic Natural

A dream come true

The story of the farm begins with Felipe's grandfather, Gildardo Contreras. Gildardo hoped to own his own coffee farm one day, and in 2012 his dream came true. Gildardo had the opportunity to purchase 40 hectares of land near Antigua in 2012 and quickly realised that the land was ideal for growing coffee. He started by planting the Bourbon 300 variety in 2014 and then expanded his production to the Geisha variety in 2016 by installing a drip irrigation system. This was a real success, with the first Geisha coffee scoring 88.5 points!

Sustainability at the heart of the farm

By 2019, his son Felipe aims to be fully sustainable. He has started to implement new production standards, always keeping an eye on the market and trends in the speciality coffee scene. Felipe has developed a production system based on a symbiotic relationship between the ecosystem and the coffee plant to produce cups with a complex profile.

He then introduced new practices to protect the environment on the farm. He was inspired by permaculture, with shade trees between the coffee trees, avocado trees, natural irrigation systems and livestock to produce compost. 

Felipe and Gildardo do not use agrochemicals or insecticides.

To this end, they have set up a biofabric, a place where they produce their own biofertilisers, insecticides and fungicides. Their aim is to be as self-sufficient as possible and to develop a production system that allows them to adapt easily. As a result of their work, they have significantly reduced the cost of producing coffee and avocados on the farm.

Respect for people

To retain their staff, Felipe and Gildardo offer a salary that is 30% higher than the market rate. And their support goes even further! They train them in selective harvesting and allow them to take part in their agricultural regeneration programme to implement a phytosanitary plan to make coffee production more profitable.

Finca Gascon is located near San Juan Gascon in the Antigua region of Guatemala. Felipe Contreras' father, who now runs the farm, built it in 2012, in the middle of a forest. The coffee trees grow in the shade of this forest, above all because Felipe realised very quickly that it was better to preserve it and use it to make his coffees better.

The farm lies at an altitude of between 1700 and 2000 metres. The farm's 17 hectares are home to the following varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Geisha and Typica. And if his coffee trees are so healthy, it's because Felipe has adopted an agroforestry model, planting them where they grow best. For the first time this year (2023), his production is entirely organic, grown without inputs or fertilisers thanks to the natural compost he harvests on the farm.

Felipe Contreras is the owner of Finca Gascon in Guatemala. Felipe is a young producer, passionate about the process and the quality of his coffees, both in the cup and for the environment. He started producing coffee at the age of 22, in 2018. And, rare enough to be highlighted, he is the 1st generation of producers in his family. At Finca Gascon, Felipe has the freedom to innovate in the way he treats his coffees. In fact, it is by experimenting that he prefers to learn how to improve the quality of his coffees each year.

Recently, he teamed up with another young producer, Mauricio Evans, to produce a blend made from the produce of Santa Elena Barillas farmers, and to help them move towards regenerative agriculture.