Finca Hamburgo

Owned and operated by the Edelmann family since 1888, Finca Hamburgo (tel. 962/626-7578, www.fincahamburgo.com [1]) is the most stately of the coffee fincas. The grounds are picture perfect: rolling hills of coffee plants, red-roofed A-frame buildings that transport you to an 18th-century farm, and views of the surrounding mountains that seem to go on forever.

The finca offers several tours within its compound and in the surrounding area: a guided tour of the beneficio de café (wet mill) where the multistep process of preparing coffee beans for export occurs (US$5 pp); a walk through the cafetales (coffee fields) and nurseries to learn how Hamburgo’s different coffees are cultivated and harvested (US$10 pp); and a four-to-six-mile tour along the Río Cuilco in Hamburgo’s sister property, Finca La Chiripa, including a hair-raising zip line ride over the river (US$12.50 pp).

Near the entrance to the finca, in what was once the freight funicular house (the first one in Chiapas), is the Museo del Café (8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, free). A detailed history of the farm is related here, complete with family photographs, farm machinery, and other antique knickknacks. Tours often include a guided stop at the museum, though it’s easy enough to walk through it yourself. Signage is in Spanish, English, and German.

Finca Hamburgo’s accommodations (US$60–75 s/d, US$130 suite) are in three beautiful pine chalets. Modern and spare, the rooms are high-end but subtle. All share a long porch with plenty of rocking chairs for guests to enjoy the views. Lounging, in fact, is encouraged—every morning a thermos of coffee is left at each room’s door so that visitors can enjoy a leisurely start to their day.

Even if you’re not staying overnight, enjoy a meal at Hamburgo’s hilltop Perleberg Restaurante (8 a.m.–4 p.m. daily, 7:30 a.m.–10 p.m. if there are hotel guests, US$6–10). The menu is solidly international with a nod to the owners’ German and Chiapanecan heritage (how often do you see bratwurst und bockwurst and tamales de chipilín on the same menu?). Even if it’s just over coffee and dessert, the view from the tables is worth a stop. Wireless Internet access is also available here (US$4/hr).