Guatemala, Part 2: Who does specialty serve?

From Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries by James Harper

April 20, 2026 · 29 min · Season 7 · Episode 5

About this episode

This episode explores the complexities of specialty coffee's impact on indigenous Guatemalan communities.

Specialty coffee changes the story for the indigenous people of Guatemala. Coffee as a tool of oppression finally offers hope....and then something a bit more complicated. This episode explores the tension between the values of the Mayan communities who grow coffee, and the values that drive the specialty coffee movement. Many of the signals we typically look for in our coffees - super-specialty flavours, Fairtrade certification, “5th generation family farm” - might actually exclude coffee grown by indigenous Guatemalans. This episode might change what kind of Guatemalan coffee you buy. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, Coffee: A Global History Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on Dieseldorf, the famous German plantation…

People in this episode

Host: James Harper

Topics covered

specialty coffee
indigenous communities
Mayan values
coffee farming
oppression and hope

Keywords

specialty coffee
Guatemala
Mayan communities
Fairtrade
coffee farming

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Coffee: A Global History, Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third Wave Taste Makers Create Value

Places: Guatemala, Jacaltenango, Dieseldorf