Why Join a De La Gente Origin Trip? A Deeper Look at Coffee at Its Source
By Pete Brugger
When you travel to Guatemala with De La Gente on an Origin Trip, you’re not just visiting farms—you’re looking at coffee at its source and stepping into its story. Our trips are designed for both industry professionals and passionate coffee drinkers who want to go beyond the café and understand what really shapes the flavors in their cup.
Over the course of a week, you’ll move through three regions and four cooperatives, each with its own landscapes, histories, and approaches to farming. Along the way, you’ll see how choices made on the farm and at the mill affect the taste, quality, and sustainability of the coffee you love.
Benito López, coffee producer from Santa Anita Cooperative, harvesting coffee cherries
From Crop to Cup: Connecting the Dots
One of the highlights of the trip is a group cupping session, where participants taste coffees side by side and learn how professionals describe flavor, body, and aroma. Whether you’re a roaster looking to sharpen your palate or an enthusiast curious about why one coffee tastes fruity and another more chocolatey, this is where you start linking farm practices to flavor in the cup. It’s an experience that makes you appreciate coffee on a whole new level.
Hands-On at the Source
In San Miguel Escobar and APCASA Santa Anita cooperatives, you’ll pick ripe cherries and follow them through the whole process - from depulping, fermentation, washing, drying to roasting. Seeing—and trying—each step for yourself gives a new appreciation for the amount of precision and care that goes into every lot of coffee. Want to understand coffee from the inside out? This is your chance.
Learning Through Contrast
By visiting multiple cooperatives, you’ll also start to notice differences: how altitude changes the density of the beans, how shade-grown systems affect maturation, or how volcanic soil influences the character of the cup. In the Atitlán region with Ija’tz cooperative, for example, coffee grows under a canopy of trees near the lake, which shapes how cherries ripen. In Antigua, a drier climate creates a very different set of conditions—and flavors to match. Seeing, tasting, and comparing these side by side is something you simply can’t do from home.
Beyond Farming: People and Organizations
Coffee is never just about plants and processes. Each cooperative you visit has its own story of how it came together—whether it’s ex-guerrillas turning to farming after the war, or indigenous farmers organizing to protect their land and way of life. Meeting producers in person and hearing their experiences brings a new dimension to every cup you drink afterwards. It’s these connections that make an Origin Trip unforgettable.
During the trip, you’ll also spend several nights with coffee-farming families in their homes. It’s a rare chance to slow down, share meals, and experience daily life in the community. You might help grind corn for tortillas in the morning, play a quick game of fútbol with the kids, or sit by the stove listening to stories about how the cooperative began. Staying in a homestay turns your visit from a trip into a true cultural exchange—deepening your appreciation for both the coffee and the hands that make it possible.
Elena Baltazar - APCASA Santa Anita Cooperative member
“As small producers, we invite you to visit us in person to enjoy a cup of coffee produced by the APCASA family. We like to show all the work that goes into it directly to our buyers, so they can see, firsthand, where and how the coffee from Santa Anita is produced.”
Elena Baltazar, APCASA Santa Anita Cooperative
What You’ll Take Home
By the end of the week, you’ll have more than just photos and memories. You’ll have a clearer sense of:
How farming practices translate into flavor.
Why different regions produce different profiles.
The human effort and decisions behind each stage of coffee’s journey.
Whether you work with coffee every day or simply savor your morning brew, this experience gives you new tools and insights to bring back home—along with a deeper respect for the producers who make it all possible.
Ready to Experience Origin?
Go to https://www.dlgcoffee.org/origin-trips-collective to secure your spot!
De La Gente’s Origin Trips are a view at coffee at its source—created by producers themselves, and led by the people who grow, harvest, and process the coffee you drink. It’s not just a tour; it’s an invitation into the world behind your cup.
Spaces are limited, and trips fill quickly. If you’ve ever wanted to taste, learn, and connect at the heart of coffee, this is your chance. Join us in Guatemala, and see coffee in a way you never have before.
Group enjoying coffee together - Credits to On the Way Travels
