One of the lesser known coffee regions, (though certainly not the least as far as taste profiles are concerned), in the Post-classic era, El Progreso was originally the domain of the Poqomchi' Maya and Nahuatl-speaking Pipil. Their descendents now grow coffee here, melding traditional farming methods with increasing understanding of quality production and processing.
The El Progreso region is also home to the Sierra de Las Minas mountains, where jade, marble, and other minerals are mined, and to the Sierra de Las Minas Reserve: 143,000 acres of protected biosphere. The reserve is crisscrossed by 63 rivers, blanketed by oaks, pines, pinabete (Guatemalan firs), and many other species of trees, fungi, bromeliads, orchids, and more than 885 animal species.