La Laguneta Espresso

About the Coffee

La Laguneta is a farm with a relatively recent history. Héctor Ricardo Leal Pivaral purchased the property in 2013, when it had been largely abandoned. Over the years since, he has replanted the land and built up production from the ground up. The farm sits in Acatenango, Guatemala, a volcanic region known for its rich soils, at elevations that support slow, even cherry development. La Laguneta now grows Bourbon, Catuai, and Caturra, alongside some newer varieties still being developed on the property.

Leal Pivaral has made targeted improvements to how the farm handles its harvests. Raised African drying beds and greenhouse drying structures have been added to give more control over the drying process, which helps keep quality consistent from one harvest to the next. This coffee is washed processed, meaning the fruit is removed from the cherry before drying, which tends to produce a cleaner, more defined cup. Natural processing projects are also underway at La Laguneta, so the range of what the farm produces is still expanding.

This is a relatively young operation still finding its footing, but the groundwork Leal Pivaral has laid since 2013 shows a clear direction. The washed lots coming off the farm right now reflect steady, careful work on a piece of land that was starting from nothing a little over a decade ago.

About Monogram

Ben Put, Justin Eyford, and Jeremy Ho started Monogram after meeting while working together as baristas in Calgary, Alberta. The three came from different backgrounds, music, health sciences, and development, but shared an interest in specialty coffee at a time when it felt inaccessible to most people. They opened their first cafe in Calgary's Altadore neighbourhood in 2014, starting from a hand-built coffee cart.

Monogram builds long-term relationships with the farms they source from. They work with producers like Mariana Iturralde at Finca Takesi in Bolivia, the Lamastus family at Elida Estate in Panama, and the team at Daterra in Brazil, returning to the same farms year after year. Ben Put has won the Canadian Barista Championship seven times and placed third at the 2025 World Barista Championship, and that competition-level focus on sourcing and roasting runs through everything Monogram puts out.