High-Brow Coffee Is More Popular Than Ever While Growers Are in Crisis
Aging farmers are struggling to find successors to take over the business.
Workers harvest coffee on a farm in Machado, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.
Photographer: Victor Moriyama/BloombergJose Guillermo Alvarez’s family has harvested coffee plants at the foothills of El Salvador’s Santa Ana volcano for four generations. Their farm, the Malacara estate, gained such prestige that it was highlighted in a 1944 National Geographic feature about the country. Today, its premium beans are renowned for their notes of brown sugar, chocolate and blackberries.
With global demand for specialty brews booming, Malacara should be enjoying a renaissance. But Alvarez is unsure that the family legacy will live on. After a rout in coffee prices, his 27-year-old son has little interest in taking over the business.