Finca El Apiario
The “Honeybee Farm”
Jorge Mendez is a Guatemalan coffee farmer and apiarist in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala. His high quality “coffee blossom honey” is produced from bees who eat the flowers of his coffee plants. This circular system provides two products that the Mendez family sell to make their living.
Regional Info
Huehuetenango is a remote mountainous region of Guatemala known for its coffee production. Much of the population in this region are indigenous Guatemalans and speak several different languages.
Sustainability Efforts
Pollinators like bees have long been studied for their effects on agriculture and plant biology. Honey bees are some of the world’s most efficient and prolific pollinators. Introducing them into coffee farms has been shown to increase crop yield and stimulate plants to become hardier against disease and pests – a vital resource as coffee farms combat climate change.
The “Honeybee Farm”
Jorge Mendez is a Guatemalan coffee farmer and apiarist in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala. His high quality “coffee blossom honey” is produced from bees who eat the flowers of his coffee plants. This circular system provides two products that the Mendez family sell to make their living.
Regional Info
Huehuetenango is a remote mountainous region of Guatemala known for its coffee production. Much of the population in this region are indigenous Guatemalans and speak several different languages.
Sustainability Efforts
Pollinators like bees have long been studied for their effects on agriculture and plant biology. Honey bees are some of the world’s most efficient and prolific pollinators. Introducing them into coffee farms has been shown to increase crop yield and stimulate plants to become hardier against disease and pests – a vital resource as coffee farms combat climate change.
What is a Honeybee Farm?
What is a Honeybee Farm?
The coffee farm apiaries are made up of a few dozen wooden boxes where the various hives live naturally. The boxes are populated and cared for by hand. Bees are pacified through the use of natural wood smoke, which does not harm or contaminate the bees in any way. Jorge Mendez and his sons represent generations of traditional bee-keeping knowledge.
For a farmer, having two products in coffee and honey mitigates the risk of crop failures and weather, while also reaping the environmental benefits of their symbiosis.
Original
Coffee Blossom Honey
Coffee Blossom Honey is farm traceable honey made from coffee flower pollen. Java Central is grateful for the opportunity to personally visit and learn from the apiarists and farmers who produce this honey in Guatemala. Sale of this honey is an investment in sustainable coffee production and empowering coffee producers in a region that has been struggling to maintain the long term viability of their industry.
Onyx Coffee Importers
Founder Edwin Martinez is a third generation coffee producer from the Huehuetenango region in Guatemala. His family has been producing coffee since 1957. Edwin began importing coffee to the US in 2009. Using the knowledge and skills passed down in his family and learned through his years of experience, Edwin has grown Onyx into a force for change and goodwill in his community. We are proud to partner with Onyx to bring our customers Coffee Blossom Honey and support families like Jorge Mendez as colleagues and patrons.
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