The Story of Gold Grains Coffee

From the time I was a little girl, I have grown alongside coffee trees. When I close my eyes, I can transport myself through time. I am four years old and my father and I are planting a coffee plant as he explains to us the importance of our family farm. I didn’t know at the time that this would be the beginning of my life’s journey in the coffee industry. My father taught my sister and I to care for nature, to love the earth, and to continue to grow coffee. Although we didn’t live on the farm, we visited often and my childhood memories are full of New Years’ holidays coinciding with the harvest.

Unfortunately, my father passed in January of 2007 and I took over El Aceituno, our family farm. In 2013, after selling our cherries to a trusted intermediary for many years, he obtained our harvest and never paid. This left us in a difficult position as a family, as we heavily depended on the harvest income for a living.

With courage and much faith, we promised ourselves that we’d take complete control over our production process. We applied for loans to continue operating and in August of 2013, we founded Gold Grains. That same year, we built the first wet mill in Conguaco, Jutiapa. Most of the machines were made by my father and with a few modifications and some maintenance work, they continued working.