2026 Coffee, Culture & Solidarity Experience: Guatemala

Dates: February 8-13, 2026

Join us for an unforgettable journey to the coffee lands of Guatemala, where women coffee farmers are shaping the future of ethical trade, one bean at a time.

This origin trip is a joint effort coordinated by the HG Coffee Learning Lab, Good Impacts, and Chica Bean.

Spots are limited. Reserve your spot today!

Destinations:

Chica Bean Coffee Roastery and Cafe, Santa Lucia Milpas Altas. Chica Bean sources coffee from women producers, roasting, preparing and serving in their beautiful rural location outside Antigua.

Finca la Hierba Buena, the coffee farm of Doña Maritza in Jalapa. Doña Maritza grew up with the dream of becoming an award-winning coffee farmer, despite not actually being from a coffee producing family. She and her husband bought their land in the mountains of San Pedro Pinula, Jalapa in 1997, and her coffee is central to Chica Bean's story.

Specialty Cafes of Antigua. We'll enjoy a cafe crawl through the coffee scene of Antigua, a colorful colonial town just begging to be explored on foot.

What's included: all in-country transportation, nightly accommodation (shared rooms), translation services, two meals per day, some snacks

NOT INCLUDED: flights to Guatemala City

Rough itinerary (subject to change):

Sun 2/7: Arrivals to Guatemala City, group transportation arranged to Chica Bean/Antigua

Mon 2/8: Travel by van to Finca la Hierba Buena, tour farm, group dinner

Tues 2/9: Learn to pick coffee! Hands on coffee farming experience, group meals

Wed 2/10: Return to Antigua, cafe touring, free evening

Thurs 2/11: AM tour Chica Bean, PM free in Antigua, group farewell dinner

Fri 2/12: Shuttle to Guatemala City, departures

Sat 2/13: Additional departures

Background: The story behind this trip is rooted in connections--truly what specialty coffee is all about. In February 2020, I volunteered with a USAID-funded venture called Farmer to Farmer, which recruited me as a coffee subject-matter expert to support Chica Bean in the process of opening their cafe. I traveled there where I met (and subsequently fell in love with) the entire Chica Bean team, including Dona Maritza mentioned above. A couple of years later, I returned with a Higher Grounds colleague to help Chica Bean with improving some of their roastery and production systems, and now I have an incredible friendship with the people behind this amazing company. With organizational support from Nick of Good Impacts and Abbi of Chica Bean, I'm thrilled to present the coffee-loving public with an opportunity to dive deeper into the story of coffee, guided by folks who truly love what they do. It's in perfect alignment with Higher Grounds' tagline: Exceptional coffee from a world of good friends. 
--Jennifer

For more information, email lab@highergroundstrading.com.