Juan José Ariano is the owner of farms in Huehuetenango like Las Camelias and Los Pinos. He has been exporting his coffee for more than 20 years now and his family had been producing coffees for generations since his grandfather, Jorge Vides, founded Finca La Bola in 1958. His mother Maria Elena Vides is in charge of checking quality at the laboratory and involved in women coffee projects. bot Juan’s sons are studying business and are involved in the family business and quality control and will one day take over the farms.

Juan provides guidance and necessary tools to his collaborators for cherry picking. The cherries are evaluated at the on-site dry mill, selecting the best ones for further processing. Wet processing follows, with diligent labor at the patio to carefully dry and separate the batches called partidas. Once ready, samples are sent to a quality control facility in Guatemala City, where cupping evaluations are conducted. Coffees are grouped based on profiles and physical characteristics, ensuring traceability and maintaining consistent quality.