Let's get to know the Founders of Cultura Spirit, Yury and Colin, and their coffee and adventure tour company!
Can you tell us more about Cultura Spirit?
Our family-owned business sells off-the-beaten-path tours to Antigua, Guatemala, and delicious, ethically-sourced Guatemalan coffee. We started in January 2022 with the goal of connecting the great destinations and activities that we know in Guatemala to people who always wanted to travel there! Our overall goal is to ensure that our services are of the highest standard and completely unique from what other coffee and tour providers offer.
Why Guatemala? When are the best seasons to visit?
We lived in Guatemala for close to five years, and our children were born there – we fell in love with the culture, food, and climate – and Antigua, in particular, provides the perfect mix of all three. Everyone who has traveled with us would agree that Guatemalans are very welcoming and go above and beyond to ensure their visitors have an above-and-beyond experience. The best seasons to visit are between late October and April – so we planned our tours then!
What inspired you to do Service Learning and Adventure Tours?
While working in the international education and tourism industry in Antigua, Guatemala, we built a strong network of individuals and organizations doing great work and giving back to their communities. When the pandemic caused the tourism industry to shut down, we saw how badly it affected the tourism industry and schools, and we wanted to use our knowledge and skills to help everyone involved. We have teamed up with local coffee producers, an amazing community school NGO Vida Guatemala, and individuals and organizations in the tourism industry to provide impactful, ethical tours that are a win-win for everyone involved. Anyone who comes on our tours will be completely immersed in the culture and leave with a full heart and memories that will last a lifetime.
What makes coffee from Guatemala so unique?
We personally know a lot about coffee, but our coffee partner, Melanie Herrera Moreira, is the true Guatemalan coffee legend! She has worked for the Beneficio Bella Visita for over a decade and owns 16 acres of coffee on the side of the Agua Volcano that overlooks Antigua.
“What makes Guatemalan coffee so unique is first the wide variety of weather conditions, geography, and the rich volcanic soils we have here. Also, most coffee plantations are actually coffee forests that support a lot of fauna, flora, and diversity. And last but not least, the people make all the difference. Guatemalans are hard workers, that are passionate, innovative, and resilient. We struggle and face whatever we need to in order to produce the best cup of coffee so we can represent with excellence our country, our resources, our people, and our passion – coffee.”
When we first started selling our coffee in February 2022, we first sold and continue to sell Melanie’s coffee named “Antigua La Pinada.” It is our flagship coffee, and it can only come from her 16 acres! We have also stood on her farm – it is a special place.
We have also partnered with the De La Gente non-profit organization, which provides us with coffee from seven cooperatives across Guatemala. They cut out the “middle man” and send their coffee directly to their purchasers, which is unique in this industry. Their coffee is fully processed from this past harvest, and their shipment will arrive in July - we will expand from three types of coffee to ten!
Anything else you would like to share with us?
On our tours, we eat breakfast each morning at the most iconic location in Antigua – the Arco de Santa Catalina or Santa Catalina Arch. What better way to start the day? Can you imagine starting your day there? After seeing it on Instagram photos and Google images, it is almost surreal to be taking your photo there.
We are happy to offer a 15% discount on our tours to anyone who has discovered us through this newsletter! All you need to do is email us with the subject line “I <3 Jet Set With Jeannette” and which tour you are interested in, and we will register you with the special discount!
How can we find out more information?
To find out more information about Cultura Spirit, you can call or text us directly at (607) 444-2422. Email us at inquire@culturaspirit.com or visit our social media.
Facebook: Cultura Spirit
Instagram: @culturaspirit_travel
LinkedIn: Cultura Spirit