Guatemala

Detailed cup profile

Guatemalan Huehuetenango has distinctive and delicate fruity tastes, a fairly light body that can sometimes be slightly buttery, a sweet floral aroma, and a clean aftertaste that lingers pleasantly on the palate. With a taste that is subtle and mild yet still complex and interesting.

Our light to medium roast works well for revealing the fruity brightness and a mild body that doesn't overwhelm the palate, but also a beautiful depth of flavour.

Our Roastmaster describes this coffee as having a maple, orange, milk chocolate and fruit notes with a syrupy body, juicy acidity and a sweet and complex character.

Background story

Guatemala is revered as one of the most flavourful and nuanced cups in the world. Huehuetenango produces exceptional beans including Caturra, Pache, Bourbon, Catuai, Catimor varieties, which have distinct fruit flavours.

Huehuetenango coffee is grown in the secluded valleys of Guatemala's rugged Western highlands and is one of Guatemala’s three non-volcanic regions, as well as its highest and driest under cultivation, making it one of the best for coffee production.

The region has abundant rivers and streams, making it relatively easy for producers to set up their own mills. The geographic conditions help to create exceptional coffees with a distinct acidity and fruity flavors.

About the farm

The various farms this lot comes from process their coffees in a washed method, then the coffee is sun dried on patios. On the farms plants like Gravilea, Chalun and fruit trees, can be found next to the coffee trees providing the needed shade. The region has an average rainfall of 2.000ml per year and most coffee is grown on clay soil.

The Primavera Family lot was created from 10-15 producers that are improving their quality every year.

Heritage

Coffee growing has helped fuel Guatemala’s economy for over a hundred years. Today, an estimated 125,000 coffee producers drive Guatemala’s coffee industry and coffee remains one of Guatemala’s principal export products, accounting for 40% of all agricultural export revenue.

It is most likely that Jesuit missionaries introduced coffee to Guatemala, and there are accounts of coffee being grown in the country as early as mid-18th century. Nonetheless, as in neighbouring El Salvador, coffee only became an important export crop for the country at the advent of synthetic dyes and industrial use in textiles – in the mid-19th century.

Throughout the latter half of the 1800s, various government programs sought to promote coffee as a means to stimulate the economy, including a massive land program started by President Justo Rufino Barrias in 1871, which resulted in the creation of large coffee estates, many of which still produce some of the best Guatemalan coffee available today.

Nearly all the coffee produced in Guatemala is Arabica and is processed using the washed method, thanks to the abundant water supply available. Large-scale family-run estates, which have a long history of coffee farming and technical expertise, have had the scale and resources to refine and evolve their farming practices over time. Many of these farmers have their own wet mills and drying facilities, enabling them a great deal of control over the way the coffee is processed. Over time, small-scale producers have inherited some of this knowledge and applied it in their own farms, creating a well-resourced and diverse coffee community.

Huehuetenango (often called ‘Huehue’) is located in the west of Guatemala, on the border with Mexico, and trade across the border thrives. Huehuetenango was the ancient centre of the Mam people, and their capital Zaculeu is preserved in the city; Popti speakers can also be found here.

Perfect preparation

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