Guatemala Candelaria from Huehuetenango

CUP PROFILE

Red fruit, raspberry, almond, and milk chocolate, with a smooth mouth feel, and a juicy, sweet body.

ABOUT THIS COFFEE

Three farms primarily participated in this lot: Finca Joya Grande, Finca Colomba and Finca la Maravilla.

On Finca la Maravilla, all weed control is done by hand, without herbicides, to minimize environmental impact. Fertilizers are applied only twice a year to the soil and leaves, and the farm also uses organic fertilizers such as chicken manure and decomposed coffee pulp. The farm’s water comes from a natural spring on the property, and it is disposed of through special sediment tanks after use. The farm has participated many times in the Cup of Excellence, where its coffee has ranked in the top 10.

Finca Joya Grande, established in 1976, works under a strict shade-grown policy, and its forest conservation areas provide shelter to many native species. Here, all water springs inside the farm are protected with vegetation to preserve the area and avoid contamination, and coffee pulp from the wet-mill process is used as organic fertilizer. The owner donates potable water from the farm’s main spring to 25 families in the neighboring village.

PROCESSING

Producers take careful steps to pick only ripe and uniform cherries, in conjunction with good wet-milling practices. Most of the coffee is sun dried, which contributes to an even, green-bluish bean color. Coffee is selectively handpicked, de-pulped, naturally fermented, washed and sun dried on concrete patios. After the coffee is dried to a moisture level between 10.5 and 11.5 percent, it is stored. Before export, the coffee is milled, screened, classified by weight/density, sorted by color and then packed in GrainPro bags.

GEOGRAPHY

In the northwest of Guatemala, Huehuetenango is one of the country’s non-volcanic coffee-producing areas. Coffee is grown at altitudes of nearly 2,000 meters ASL, with a variety of microclimates also helping to develop the region’s trademark fruit notes and juicy body. The temperate-to-cold climate, well-distributed rains and good soil conditions also contribute to ideal growing conditions.

Region: Huehuetenango
Producers: Primarily Finca Joya Grande, Finca Vasquez, and Finca la Maravilla
Altitude: 1,500–2,000 meters ASL
Varieties: Caturra, Bourbon, Catuai, Typica, Pacamara
Processing: Fully washed sun dried, FSHB European preparation
Harvest: January–February 2019