Las Macadamias

The Aguirre Family

The Aguirre family, and their iconic project Finca El Injerto, need almost no introduction in the world of coffee. They are the single most successful producer in the history of the Cup of Excellence, having won the competition overall 10 times, including with this very lot in the 2025 iteration.

The story continues

This innovation continues today. The Aguirre family have refused to sit on their laurels, comfortable with their success. Arturo Jr. has overseen a push for greater sustainability on the farm; El Injerto was the first farm in Guatemala to receive a carbon neutral certification in 2017, and since 2019, the farm has run almost exclusively on solar energy. The push for quality also continues, and this small lot is an excellent example.

10 years ago, the El Injerto team specified a small 12 hectare plot high on the farm, and separated it from the wider farm. This plot was named Las Macadamias for the shade trees that dominated there, and its cool and quiet location was deemed perfect for experimentation. It is here at Las Macadamias that trials take place before new techniques are trialled before they are used on the wider farm; pruning, fertilisers, weed control and even new varietals.

The Cup of Excellence started in Brazil at the turn of the century, initially designed to expand the country’s reputation for quality coffee.

Farmers from across the country deliver a specific lot of coffee, which is then roasted, cupped and tasted by teams of national and international judges in order to find the finest lots of each harvest. The top lots are then auctioned off to buyers from around the world; assured of receiving the highest quality in their roastery. Since then, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence have expanded the format to other countries, creating connections between quality-focussed producers and roasters for over 20 years. The CoE was one of the drivers behind the early speciality coffee movement; enabling some of the first direct trade relationships, and using competition to encourage and unveil quality across the countries where it operates.

Members of our team have joined International Juries, including at the 2025 competition in Guatemala; this lot was one of 5 Presidential award winners at this year’s competition, and won the ‘Exotic Natural’ category of the competition, scoring slightly higher than the El Socorro lot we released earlier in the season.