Description
Two coffee-related tours are available through this organization:

Tour 1: As Green As It Gets Coffee Tour
Pick, process, and roast your own coffee! Give a small, independent Guatemalan farmer a hand with the steps of coffee harvesting while learning to process your very own coffee. On this tour you will visit his field, pick a few pounds of ripe coffee fruit, separate it by density, husk the fruit, ferment and wash the beans, dry them, remove the inner husk, sort by size and grade, roast, grind and taste! All processes are done by hand without the use of electricity or mechanized equipment. Actual activities vary throughout the harvest season. Although the tour is in Spanish, an English translator can be arranged. Wear comfortable clothes and sturdy shoes. Picked exactly as coffee is picked in Guatemala, it is a rustic experience that will include hiking sandy volcano slopes, carrying coffee in 20 lb. baskets and riding in the back of a pick-up!

Tours available year round, harvesting available Mid-November to Mid-March. Times are flexible, by appointment, and the tour is approximately 4 hours. Be sure to specify in advance if you need an English translator. Cost is 50Q per person, or free with the purchase of coffee.

Tour 2: Coffee Cupping
Learn the basics of professional coffee tasting while sampling coffee from local, independent Guatemalan farmers.

This tour is for the coffee aficionado. Learn to identify and grade coffee by scent, taste, and appearance - Grade prepared coffee as well as green coffee. You will also learn to rank and score coffees on simplified, professional scoring charts and understand the coffee vocabulary such as ‘mouthfeel’ and ‘acidity’ used in gourmet coffees. Sample 4 different coffees from the Antigua area. Learn to identify coffee by elevation, fermentation, grain size, and grain form as well as coffee defects and the hallmarks of a supreme coffee. Time permitting, you will be able to blend your own perfect coffee.

Class is held at a local non-profit, Common Hope, or can be arranged at your hotel, space permitting.

Tour schedules are flexible, by appointment, and the tour is approximately 2 hours. Cost is Q400 for up to 10 people. Tours available year round in English or Spanish. www.asgreenasitgets.org