For many people Guatemala’s most distinctive geographic feature is its chain of 34 volcanoes –part of the Ring of Fire– that runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean.

In prehistoric times, violent volcanic activity shaped Guatemala’s mountainous terrain and created the highlands’ major bodies of water. Today, volcanoes are intimately linked to coffee cultivation.

Guatemala’s “coffee belt” runs along this volcanic chain, benefiting from its distinct microclimates and mineral rich soils. As a result, five of our eight regional coffees are cultivated in volcanic soils; some of them every often receive a fresh dusting of mineral-rich ash coming from any of Guatemala’s three active volcanoes.