CBI in Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua has a way of stopping you in your tracks. Between the cobblestone streets, the volcanoes Agua and Fuego on the horizon, and the sheer density of coffee culture packed into a few walkable blocks, it doesn't take long to understand why this city holds such a special place in the coffee world. In February, we had the privilege of spending time here — teaching, exploring, and connecting with a community that reminded us why we do what we do.
We were fortunate to arrive during the forty days leading up to Easter, when Antigua's streets fill with processions, elaborate carpets of coloured sawdust and flowers, and a sense of celebration that makes an already remarkable city feel even more alive. Walking those streets — stopping into every café and roastery we could find, meeting travellers and locals from all over the world who shared our enthusiasm — turned the trip into something much more than a teaching visit.
Teaching at Zenique and Mesón Panza Verde
Our home base was the beautiful Mesón Panza Verde Hotel, where our alumna Kendra runs Zenique Café. The two spaces sit side by side but serve quite different purposes, and our training reflected that. The hotel's restaurant has been operating since 1992 — there's a high quality well-established rhythm to the service, a standard that guests have come to expect. What made working with this team so enjoyable was Kendra's openness: rather than treating what already works as untouchable, she welcomed CBI to look closely, ask questions, and fine-tune. Sometimes the most meaningful improvements are subtle ones. Zenique opened in January 2024, and working towards finding its own shape — responding to guests wandering in from the street, regulars, travellers, curious locals. There's no corporate playbook here, and that's exactly the point. Training in that environment meant being responsive ourselves. We covered Barista Levels 1 through 4, but in practice we moved in many directions depending on what the team needed most: dialling in the grinder and espresso machine they'd recently purchased, refining pour-over recipes, adjusting the flow of service. That kind of responsive, hands-on teaching is where CBI feels most at home.
The coffee being served at both spaces comes from Finca Santa Clara, a local finca right in Antigua, roasted fresh nearby. For our trainers, it was a genuinely memorable experience — sweet, full-bodied, with a long aftertaste that you don't often encounter in cafés back in Canada. High-quality coffee served exactly as it should be. 
Learning as Much as We Taught
One of the things we try to do whenever we travel is listen before we speak. Visiting other businesses, talking with staff and customers, sitting in on conversations — it's often where the most useful learning happens.
A few things stood out. First, the coffee culture here is one of volume and pleasure: many cups throughout the day, espresso consumed as a matter of course. During the training sessions, the team never hesitated to drink everything we were making — not out of politeness, but because that's simply how coffee is experienced here. It was a refreshing contrast to the relationship with espresso we see back home. We also asked around about specialty robusta — a topic generating a lot of noise in the industry right now. The response from Guatemalans we spoke with was telling: a kind of genuine puzzlement that we were even asking. The sentiment, expressed more than once, was essentially: it doesn't taste good, regardless of what you call it. For a country producing some of the finest arabica in the world, the question probably felt a bit odd. It was a good reminder that local perspective cuts through a lot of industry hype.
The People Who Made It Possible
None of this happens without the right people. We're deeply grateful to Kendra and the teams at Zenique Café and Mesón Panza Verde for their hospitality and trust. We'd also like to thank our guides Pablito and his brother Mike, Max from Finca La Hermosa, Geo from Casa Donya, Frosty from Coffea, the wonderful team at El Gran Café, and Valhalla Macadamia Farm for the tour.
What Comes Next
Before we left, Kendra invited us to return every six months — to keep teaching, keep engaging with the community, and keep building on what we've started together. We said yes without hesitation. What that looks like in practice is still taking shape, but the possibilities are exciting. We're exploring the idea of a satellite lab in Antigua. We're also looking at bringing a small group of Canadian roasters — CBI alumni — to travel with us: staying at Mesón Panza Verde at a rate that makes a luxury boutique hotel genuinely accessible, and spending time visiting some of the most sought-after green coffee farms in the country, including Finca La Hermosa and farms in Huehuetenango. 
