Guatemalan coffee growers map out distinct regions

Atlas an attempt to stop pretenders from horning in on gourmet beans

By MICA ROSENBERG
Reuters News Service

ACATENANGO, GUATEMALA - Farmers from this lush valley between two Guatemalan volcanoes have made extra cash for years by pretending their coffee is from Antigua, a neighboring region famous for its chocolaty tasting beans.

"The intermediaries sell ripe coffee from Acatenango as if it is from Antigua. It's a problem all along the chain," said Luis Pedro Zelaya, president of the Genuine Antigua Coffee Growers Association, or APCA.

Some 100,000 60-kilogram bags of coffee were sold as Antigua last year — about double the 50,000 bags produced in the area around the famous Spanish colonial tourist town, the association said.

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