MARIA TRANCITO – FINCA LA ENCANTADA
Maria Trancito is a dynamic human being. She left home at 15 as a single mother and worked selling bread, nacatamales, and beer to help feed her children. Maria used the profits to buy fabric to make dresses, and by age 25 had saved enough money from that business to buy her first plot of land to grow coffee. All of her coffee is shade grown, and she primarily grows three varieties: Catuai, H27, and a small amount of Geisha. In 2013 Maria began to focus on preparing microlots with extra attention given to organic growing practices and different processing methods so that she could have more access to the specialty market. She prepares washed, honey, and natural coffees. Now, at 67 years young Maria has six children, 3 small farms, and a small grocery store she runs while her kids help run the farms. Her farm is called La Encantada (translates to “Enchanted”), which is how she felt when the land she bought began producing more volume and higher quality coffee than she originally expected. (It also translates to “haunted”, which is a great name for a farm too). Dona Maria continues forward every year with the goal of constant improvement and with the motto, “from my land to your cup”. This our second year working with Maria and we have an excellent small honey-process lot from her.