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Ascending journey to quality Guatemala coffee: on the slopes of the mountains

 
 
 
 

Guatemala coffee Finca El Socorro y Anexos, located in Palencia municipality, Guatemala department

Guatemala coffee Finca El Socorro y Anexos, located in Palencia municipality, Guatemala department 
(Photo by Gabriela Cordón)

Quality in the cup is not just by coincidence. Those of you that have been delighted by a cup of coffee might know that a proper preparation for a good cup of coffee is not easy. Same goes for processing coffee.  All of Guatemala coffee, from lower to higher altitudes, is handpicked, washed in mills and sun dried or a combination of sun and dryers.

View of El Socorro main house and mill. Most of the Guatemala coffee farms are located on the slopes and all of them have their own wet mill.

View of El Socorro main house and mill. Most of the Guatemala coffee farms are located on the slopes and all of them  have their own wet mill. (Photo by Gabriela Cordón)

So what is the difference in the cup?  It is just about intensity and complexity of characteristics.  The higher the grown, the more intense characteristics you will find. Lower grown Guatemala coffee tends to have less acidity and body, cereal taste and less sweetness.

Higher grown, because a combination of volcanic soils, altitude and microclimate, that usually provide a combination of tropical and colder weather, allows Guatemala coffee plants to develop more of these characteristics.

More and more production of semi hard, hard and strictly hard beans is been produced nowadays, in altitudes from 1,000 to 1,800 MASL.

Color of the beans is less greenish and more on the bluish tones while grown on higher altitudes, more dense and compact, with a bit of silver membrane on the bean, because of its corrugation. They expand less when roasting. They are more fragrant, with more body and acidity.  All of these characteristics also offer more complexity with higher altitude. Bourbons, maragogype, pacamaras also provide finer characteristics in these altitudes, but less production.

But yet, the journey has not finished. Still we have to discover the Guatemala coffee that grows at the highest picks in the ascending journey to quality. Can it get better? You just can't imagine the gifts of nature when you are willing to climb all the way to the top.

 

View of Guatemala coffee grown in the slopes of mountains in Palencia municipality

View of Guatemala coffee grown in the slopes of mountains in Palencia municipality

(Photo by Gabriela Cordón)

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REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • NICE TO KNOW!

    Son Ton | Sun, 01/22/2012 - 18:06

    It is nice to know that the coffee that I'm brewing is responsibly grown. I appreciate all the hard work that Guatemala farmers put into tending their plant to produce the delicious coffee!

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  • ALTITUDE AND TYPES

    Gabriela Cordon | Thu, 01/05/2012 - 15:59

    @EricBNC So sorry for my late response. Yes, types of coffee are determined by the altitude they are grown at. The highest the altitude, the most distinctive and pronounced characteristics of the cup.

  • SEEMS LIKE WITH EVERYTHING

    intrepid510 | Tue, 12/06/2011 - 15:22

    Seems like with everything taking your time produces the best results whether it is waiting for you coffee bean to ripen to develop amazing flavors or using a pour over instead of an auto drip.

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  • INFORMATIVE

    Wakeknot | Tue, 09/27/2011 - 19:51

    thanks for sharing such interesting info.

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  • MOUNTAIN HIGH

    EricBNC | Mon, 09/05/2011 - 18:34


    So semi hard, hard and strictly hard beans are determined by the altitude they are grown at?

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  • COBáN

    Gabriela Cordón | Sat, 10/31/2009 - 17:08

    Gazy, thank you for your comment. I am glad you had the opportunity to taste some Cobán coffee in Flores!

    You are right in saying that Cobán taste good... when I was working in the international promotion of Guatemalan Coffees, people that were used to Antigua coffee, when tasting another region would think the other region was best. For me, Antigua is a well balanced coffee, delicate. None of its characteristics stand out more than other. O

    Other regions, instead offer more intensity in some characteristics. Cobán, for example is delicate in acidity, but very aromatic, with a medium body, but with lots of fruit taste. It is interesting that most producers from this region that started the coffee business were Germans. That is why this region is still very popular in that country.

  • GUATEMALA COFFEE

    Gazy Kattan | Sat, 10/31/2009 - 13:00

    Gabriela,
    Your description of the Guatemalan mountains and the good coffee grown there is interesting.
    Yes, here's a Colombian who deals in coffee, talking about the good Guatemalan coffee.
    As a matter of fact, I spent some time in Flores on the Petén Itzá lake -what a beautiful place- and had the chance to enjoy an excellent coffee from a microlot estate in the Coban region, owned by a German who grows and roasts in origin; I have unfortunately forgotten his name. This coffee was a lot better than Antigua or any other coffee. There was only one place where it was served at the time in Flores.
    Cheers,
    Gazy