El Socorro

El Socorro Farm, situated 50 kilometers from Guatemala City in the municipality of Palencia within the Guatemala department, has a rich history that dates back to 1905. Initially a part of Hacienda San Guayaba, the estate was first owned by Antonio López Colom. Upon his death, his youngest son, Julio Colom Gómez Carrillo, inherited the property but later sold it. The land changed hands multiple times until 1968 when Dr. Mario de la Cerda and Maria Colom de la Cerda, family descendants, repurchased the property.

In 1980, Juan de la Cerda Colom, their son, began growing coffee on the farm. Currently managed by Juan and his son Juan Diego, the property is now in its fourth generation of ownership. They have established El Socorro as a premier coffee producer in Guatemala, owing to rigorous quality control at each stage of production, from cultivation to wet milling.

The estate operates an environmentally-friendly wet mill, which dry depulps coffee cherries while recycling water. The reclaimed water is then treated using sustainable methods before being released back into the surrounding forest.

Juan Diego de la Cerda, who owns two additional farms, has been experimenting with a diverse range of coffee varieties, including Java, Red and Yellow Bourbon, Yellow Caturra, Maracaturra, Pacamara, Purpuracea, and Geisha. Specifically, the Maracaturra variety, a hybrid originating from Nicaragua, was planted in Guatemala as a test for its resistance to leaf rust. Juan Diego's efforts have not gone unnoticed; he received first place in the Cup of Excellence competitions in 2007 and 2020, and second place in 2021.

The land use on Finca El Socorro is diversified, with natural forests covering 60% of the estate, coffee plantations making up 25%, and the remaining area devoted to cattle grazing and flower cultivation. All the coffee trees grow under natural canopy cover, which existed prior to the farm's establishment. Information signs are placed on each parcel, detailing factors like the age of the trees, varieties grown, and the size of the parcel.