San Patricio El Limón: A Family-Run Jewel in Palencia, Guatemala
Tucked into the rolling hills of Palencia, just a short drive east of Guatemala City, lies San Patricio El Limon – a coffee farm that’s as much about family and community as it is about exceptional coffee. Founded in the late 1990s by Guadalupe “Beto” Reyes, this eighteen-hectare farm sits at an altitude between 1,350 and 1,850 metres above sea level, surrounded by volcanic soil, forest, and the kind of temperate climate that coffee plants thrive in.
Beto’s approach to coffee has always been rooted in care and curiosity. A desire to experiment is one of the big reasons we love buying from San Patricio El Limon – we’ve been working with the family since 2013, first introduced by our mutual friend Raul Rodas (2012 World Barista Champion), and they just keep getting more impressive each year.
A true family operation
Since we’ve been working with Beto, a major goal for him has been to hand the farm on to a new generation. As well as founding San Patricio, Beto is the Mayor of Palencia and has several other business interests – it makes him a very busy person. He’s always been backed up by his wife Marilyn, and over the years their children have gradually taken on bigger roles. Today they run the farm as a family, with Eliana, Betio, Saul and Ruth all involved in the day-to-day. Each one specialises in a different part of the business, but decisions are made collaboratively – and it works, because they each bring their own experience, education and personality to the mix.
Beto’s brother Felix runs the wet mill, which the family have operated since the very beginning. Having their own mill means they can separate different lots and maintain control over quality at every stage. They’re able to process many lots simultaneously, keeping separate days’ pickings, processes, and varietals in their own parcels – ensuring traceability and consistency in every cup. The wet mill also benefits the local community, as neighbours within the region bring their coffees to be processed there too.
Putting Palencia on the map
Palencia isn’t one of Guatemala’s eight officially recognised coffee-growing regions. Names like Antigua, Huehuetenango, and Coban tend to dominate the conversation. But Palencia is quietly carving out its own identity, thanks in large part to the work of the Reyes family. What it lacks in historical recognition, it makes up for in innovation and community spirit – Beto has helped build and develop the town alongside running the farm. Honestly, we have no idea how he finds enough hours in the day.
The farm mainly produces caturra and bourbon, but Beto’s experimental streak has led to plantings of SL28, H1, H3, maracaturra, maragogype, geisha, pacamara, and catuai (both yellow and red). That same restlessness has driven a range of natural and hybrid process lots – still relatively uncommon in Guatemala, where washed methods dominate. Their 2021 naturally processed pacamara earned 14th place in the Guatemala Cup of Excellence, a notable achievement that reflects both the quality of their coffees and the growing recognition of alternative processing methods in the region. More recently, in 2025, a naturally processed pacamara from El Limón took 2nd place in the Natural category of the Flores del Café competition – an annual event organised by Anacafé and IWCA Guatemala to recognise exceptional coffees produced by women in the industry – scoring 88.25 points against some seriously stiff competition from across the country.
Over the years, the family has invested heavily in infrastructure too: rebuilding the wet mill, adding a QC lab, constructing a new warehouse, building accommodations for workers, and installing around eight water reservoirs across the farm to preserve this vital resource. It’s the kind of long-term thinking that speaks to how seriously they take both the coffee and the land it grows on.
With the next generation now firmly at the helm alongside Beto and Marilyn, San Patricio El Limon feels like a farm that’s just getting started.
- Country: Guatemala
- Region: Palencia
- Farm: San Patricio El Limon
- Farmers: The Reyes Family – Guadalupe Alberto ‘Beto’ Reyes Aguilar, Marilyn, Eliana, Betio, Saul & Ruth
- Altitude: 1,350–1,850 m.a.s.l.
- Farm size: 18 hectares
