Our farm
Chalabal means ‘the jaguar's cave’ in the Mayan language.
Four generations in the jaguar's cave.
The farm was born in 1880, under Jorge Bulnes, on slopes that were jaguar territory — that is why it was called Chalabal. My family has cared for it since 1930: my great-grandfather built it up, my grandmother rebuilt it after the '76 earthquake, my father modernized it. Today we run it together.
Acatenango, Chimaltenango · volcanic soil · 1,600–2,100 masl
First records of coffee growing on the farm, under its first owner, Jorge Bulnes. Even then it was called Chalabal — 'the jaguar's cave' in the Mayan language — because these slopes were jaguar territory.
Miguel Soto, my great-grandfather, a renowned coffee grower, acquires the farm. He modernizes the wet mill, brings order to the plantation, and Chalabal's coffee begins to earn a name in the region.
The 1976 earthquake, with its epicenter 50 kilometers away, brought down everything generations had built. My grandmother Nydia raised the farm from the rubble: those were hard times, and she carried them with a serene strength that still guides us. Two years later, the wet mill was working again.
The land is divided and the upper part becomes Chalabal Estrella. My father modernizes the farm: water recycling, renewal of the coffee plots — producing better while caring more.
Alongside my father I manage the farm, fourth generation, always seeking better results with a focus that does not change: people first.
Quality is not only told from origin — it also shows in the cup.
From the volcano, with an address.