Coffee producer profile from Shared Source Coffee Importers.
Rocelio Antonio Martinez Recinos, 41, is a second-generation coffee producer from El Chalum, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. His father, Jorge, began farming coffee in his teens, gradually transitioning from maize, beans, and cattle to coffee as a main crop. Antonio grew up helping in the fields, showing an early interest in coffee cultivation- his father notes that Antonio was the only one of his children who was genuinely interested in going to the coffee fields and picking cherries. After spending years in the United States, he returned to Guatemala and began managing coffee plots alongside his father.
Antonio entered specialty coffee with the guidance of one of our long-time producer partners, Ader Recinos, who taught him processing techniques aimed at improving cup quality. (Antonio’s mother is Ader’s grandfather’s niece! They’re friends and family.) Antonio quickly adopted these immediately, applying them both on his own farms and in collaboration with his father. His two main farms - Cerro Verde and Lote de la Finca are around 30 cuerdas each with bourbon, caturra, pache, San Ramón, and young gesha and pacamara trees. Antonio is so new to specialty coffee that he initially didn’t recognize the value of the gesha seeds, and planted them alongside older trees. Thankfully, workers can recognize the gesha trees, and he hopes to be able to have a gesha-specific lot as the trees mature and produce more cherries. They primarily have chalúm trees as shade- Antonio likes that the leaves return organic material to the soils, and act as a natural weed suppressor. Antonio’s farm management style is hands-on and adaptive. He prunes his coffee trees in 4-year cycles at 14–20 cm to encourage healthy regrowth while minimizing damage from pickers. He has also introduced a terrace system to Cerro Verde, which reduces shade and undergrowth, improves airflow (which reduces fungal pest risks), conserves soil nutrients, and synchronizes ripening with other, lower-elevation plots.
Antonio’s process is largely adapted from Ader’s washed process. With the help of 10-15 workers, cherries are picked at peak ripeness, depulped the same day, and fermented without water in open tanks before washing and sorting. Drying is a multi-stage process combining patio and bag rest periods to control moisture. Though time-intensive, this method has become a family standard; Antonio’s father Jorge now uses the same approach for his Pose Piedra lots. As a relatively new participant in specialty coffee, Antonio is curious, experimental, and motivated to learn more. He says that he’s proud to “see the farm looking beautiful”, and appreciates Shared Source’s recognition of his coffee’s quality.
