Guatemala, Part 2: Who does specialty serve?

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!

You can listen to Guatemala, Part 2: Who does specialty serve? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Guatemala, Part 2: Who does specialty serve? is an episode from Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries by James Harper.

This episode is 28:44 long.

This episode was published on Apr 20, 2026.

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