In My Mug Audio

Raul Pérez has grown up around coffee. He comes from a fifth-generation coffee farming family on his father's side, and a third-generation family on his mother's side. Coffee has always been part of his life. He has told me about the stories his grandparents shared with him about their experiences. But I think it's fair to say that Raul has made plenty of his own coffee stories in his ten years of involvement in the specialty coffee industry. It was ten years ago when Raul first became involved in the family business. After living in Guatemala City in his youth (so he was able to go to a good school and university), he returned to the farm where his family had still been working and commuting. This coincided with a visit from an international buyer who made the family view coffee production in a different way. The speciality market was blossoming and the visitor gave them new ideas for varietals, picking, and processing that changed the direction of their farm and their cup quality. As Raul puts it, they b