His memories about coffee begin when he was thirteen and helped his mother picking coffee. He remembers these big coffee trees, as if they were unreachable because of his height. It was rare to find robusta coffee trees in this area of Jalapa region. Despite its unusual appearance, the seed of coffee was scattered in his little heart.

When he grew older enough to start earning money for his own family, the memory of coffee came back again and conquered him. “Coffee represented the only option to develop an economy of survival”, he states. His parents gave him a small plot that did not even reached half a third of a Hectare.

He also obtained the seed form his father plantation. That is how this adventure began, with the unique purpose of surviving. “When I started growing coffee, I never thought I could produce a coffee lot that could be auctioned through the Internet”, he confesses.

Daniel is now forty four years old. He has 8 children. The oldest son is about to graduate from secondary school. He is studying to become an accountant. His plantation has also grown. Now he cultivates pache and catuai varieties and people from Monterverde county, Mataquescuintla, municipality, in Jalapa department help him pick coffee during the harvest.

He used to sell his coffee to middlemen. His brother, Carlos told him about some auction that Anacafé where promoting in a training semminar in Barberena, Santa Rosa. “They said, only the very best will be auctioned”, he recalls. He still sells part of his crop to middlemen, but he prepares his very best to enter the auction year after year.

“The auction has beneffited me because I know that my coffee could is worth it. Not only in other countries. After the auction, the prices middlemen offer me were even better”.

He is happy to develop his plantation in a better way. He invested the money of the auction in clearing the plantation, pruning and fertilizing. “I can take care of my plantation with greater love”, he says. He also cultivates corn, beans and green beans that he sells in Jalapa as well.

What does he expect from the Internet auction? His answer is: “I just hope the auction helps me improve an step out from poverty. I want to live with dignity”, he concludes.

Daniel Morales Alvarado was also a previous winner in the 2006 Cup of Excellence competition.