Meet Herceny Del Cid

We had the good fortune of connecting with Herceny Del Cid and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Herceny, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My name is Herceny and I was born in Santa Rosa Guatemala. I am 6th generation Coffee Farmer. We immigrated to the US when I was 5 years old. I was raised in Los Angeles, specifically Inglewood. In Guatemala we are coffee farmers. We maintained our coffee farms all year long and then sold our coffee cherries. As coffee farmers our parents couldn’t make ends meet and made the difficult decision to immigrate to the US, bringing only me and left my brother, my entire family and life as we knew it behind. My parents started working immediately, and I learned English within a few weeks. It was very hard for us, my parents didn’t know the language or the culture. As I grew up I started to notice that everyone drinks coffee. We could only afford the bad instant coffee. My parents worked hard and sent money back to my brother and to maintain our farms. I was the connection between coffee farmers and people who drink coffee in the US, and I didnt know it. I grew more and more curious and told my father and mother that it was not ok that we as Coffee Farmers had to leave our country and would send money back from their hard work to maintain the farms. This wasnt just my parents, this effected my entire village. Because all my family are coffee farmers and depend on that income. My curiosity grew into a bit of resentment and curiosity. I started studying more and more about coffee. Finally in December 2012 I had a talk with my father that I want to figure out how to export our coffee and sell it in the US. I told him there was a huge disconnect between the coffee drinker, coffee shop, roaster and the coffee farmer. He said anything you need, lets do it, we built the foundation, you build the house. Five months later my father died, unexpectedly, of stage 4 cancer. Our life was turned upside down, he was my best friend. I had to become head of household and that dream had to be put on hold, our sadness was too strong. We rescued our Dog Chucho which helped us so much, including our dog Rocky who was my fathers. Finally in 2021 I had a talk with my mother and my two brothers, I told them I wanted to continue this dream I had. They were all on board. All I needed was that extra support and protection I lost when I lost my father and they stepped up. I studied the supply chain of coffee and the process of coffee, including the agronomy of coffee because we are coffee farmers first. Finally in 2023 we started Del Cid Coffee and did our first export, import, roast. We were finally in control of those coffee cherries. Now we process those cherries all the way until they get to our customers cup. A total dream come true, little did I know I would become the first woman coffee farmer from Guatemala to take over the supply chain of coffee. I just wish my father was here to see it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
After and during college I worked in Sports Marketing, in soccer. I first started working street team for a local rock station in LA. From there I moved into sports radio. That led me to journalism in soccer as well as positions like Director of Marketing for a US Soccer USL team. I also started my own company to cover and report on soccer all over the world. I interviewed people at Korea Football Association, Federation of Football in Guatemala, and many professional athletes. At the time I was the only woman around doing in in the Los Angeles region. I believe this helped me not think about being the only woma, in any situation, and really just enter rooms with confidence. I learned so much about marketing and promotions. These is the knowledge I have used for our coffee brand. Even in coffee, there isnt many woman on the roasted side of coffee, in the US. Although there are many woman coffee farmers. I have learned not to be scared, even if its scary its only temporary. I have learned to go after what I want always. I have also learned I am a very creative person, so creating our coffee brand was a natural part of me. I want the world to know that we represent each and everyone of them which is also why we chose our logo to be me ( a woman) and our dog Chucho, because we are the new brand where we represent the modern world and join with our ancestors as well. We want the world to remember the importance of family, and to live every moment with happiness and always support coffee farmers. If they dont have any connection to the coffee farmer remember there’s probably another 5 year old girl and her family that cant make ends meet even though you just drank their coffee. Always remember that our coffee is made with so much love and great energy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Its December, Coffee Harvest, You will fly into Guatemala City and we will pick you and drive you to our little village called El Rodeo. Our dog Rodeo will come out to meet you. You will stay at our house at the top of the mountain overlooking the valley, more mountains and volcanos. We will cook traditional Guatemalan food and you will have fresh made drinks, and coffee. The eggs were just laid by our aunts chickens. In the morning you will hear the music of the roosters. No need for alarm clock. Get ready because we are going to harvest coffee. We will hike our coffee mountain. You will be immersed in nature, surrounded by trees, and birds chirping everywhere. Your body will feel so good, serotonin, naturally because you are in the forest. You will harvest coffee cherries! An experience of a lifetime. But wait the bananas and mangos are ready too so we will harvest them and fresh vegetables to cook later. When we get home we will set our coffee cherries on our drying beds so the drying process starts. Now you relax on the hammocks overlooking the mountains. When you’re ready we will start making banana bread from the bananas we harvested. We saved adobe from our Dads bakery and made a mini adobe oven, that bread will taste amazing! We will also roast fresh coffee seeds over fire and brew the freshest coffee you’ve ever had. When your ready lets walk around our village! Thats our aunt, thats our uncle, ,thats our niece, thats our nephew, that our aunts dog Colocha, she will join us. You will check out our families church. The next day we will hike to our village water fall! We will pass by all our families coffee farms. On Day 3 we will go to Lake Ayarza, a crater lake. We will eat fresh fried Tilapia and you can enjoy water sports. Ok time to get ready for our trip to Antigua Guatemala. We will spend two days there, surrounded by volcanos and all the rich Mayan culture. Now get ready were going to Lake Atitlan, another peaceful place in Guatemala. All of Guatemala feels this way. Youre going to ask to go back to our farms, so we will! Our family, our entire village is so excited to have you back, especially our little niece Milly! You will leave feeling like you now have family and friends in Guatemala, plus the best coffee in the world.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Id like to thank my Mother and my Father for teaching us the value in hard work, the value in learning and the value of sticking together. My mother, Marina, for continuing on even after losing the love of her life and for being so supportive to all of us.

To Lendel for overcoming so many hardships and working hard and achieving all his educational goals. Your support and protection after losing our Dad, has been the glue to continue on. You are the soil to Del Cid Coffee.

To Kevin our little brother, who lost his father at such a young age which led him to mature in such a way that makes me so proud to be his big sister. He is the mediator, the organizer and his intelligence is all the nutrients Del Cid Coffee needs to grow.

To every single person that we have met along the way that has helped us in any and every way. From teaching us how to plant coffee, roast coffee, taste coffee and to export. The ones that believed in us and gave us an opportunity whether it is to sell our coffee or do events, including in sports. To those who graciously gave us equipment we needed. To those who support us on social media, at our farmers markets. Thank you for believing in us!

Website: https://delcidcoffee.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafedelcid/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hercenydelcid/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/delcidcoffee

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HercenyDelCid

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