Introduction to Guatemala InHert Estate Pacamara Pandora Fátima Variety Cultivation Market Price

El Injerto Estate: Guatemala's Premier Coffee Farm

El Injerto Estate is one of Guatemala's top estates. If it claimed second place, few would dare claim first. It has won a long list of world-class competition awards, and last year the owner pushed its standing even higher. Like Panama's famous Hacienda La Esmeralda, El Injerto hosts a global bidding competition, and the lots it releases are exceptional. The first batch of its "Mocha Variety" in 2012 set a world record when it sold for $500.5 per pound, which is what makes El Injerto a genuine star estate.

For this competition El Injerto launched the "BEST El Injerto" series, carefully selecting small lots of exceptional quality and distinctive varieties from within the estate. Experienced farmers pick ripe cherries by hand, and cuppers then eliminate any lot that fails to meet the standard. Under selection this strict, the Pacamara variety accounts for only about 8% of El Injerto's total production.

About the Pacamara Variety

Pacamara became world-famous through the Cup of Excellence (COE) in 2004, frequently taking the championship within 2-3 years. Pacamara produced by Guatemala's El Injerto Estate set a record price of $80.2 per pound for green beans in 2008.

The variety's name comes from its parentage: it is a hybrid of the large-bean Maragogype and Pacas, taking the first four letters of each to form "Pacamara." It is an excellent variety developed in El Salvador. The beans are very large, similar to Elephant beans, measuring about 21-22 mesh, and it has been an outstanding variety across Central and South America in recent years. Every country and farm hopes to find the right region for it, much as they did with Panama's Geisha. Pacamara's defining traits are a bright fruit acidity and a very pure, delicate sweetness.

In appearance Pacamara still resembles its cousin the Elephant Bean. Since 2006, COE has cupped Pacamara from 30 estates, and some of those lots have been genuine superstars: 2006 Honduras champion Santa Martha, 2007 El Salvador third-place Cerro Negro (Black Mountain Estate), Guatemala's regular COE champion El Injerto, and 2008 El Salvador runner-up Pacamal Estate. All are fine Pacamara representatives, but they are award-winning batches and priced accordingly.

Pacamara delivers full, rich and complex flavors. Few coffee varieties combine fruit acidity with such noticeable sweetness, and they shift across stone fruits, vanilla, tropical fruits, chocolate and spice sweetness.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 100g
Package: Bulk packaging
Organic: No
Bean State: Roasted coffee beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Guatemala
Roast Level: Medium roast

Coffee Details

Guatemala La Libertad, Huehuetenango El Injerto Pandora de Fatima

Country: Guatemala
Grade: SHB
Estate: El Injerto Estate
Roast Level: Medium roast
Processing: Washed
Variety: Pacamara
Batch: Competition batch Pandora Fatima EI07
Flavor: Chestnut, Plum, Chocolate

Guatemala Pacamara Competition Batch Pandora Fatima - Pacamara EI07

The World's Coffee Estate - El Injerto Estate

There are more than ten thousand coffee estates worldwide: some produce mass-market coffee, some produce high-quality coffee, and some grow rare varieties. Today we introduce the renowned top-tier estate of Guatemala, El Injerto.

Estate Introduction

El Injerto Estate sits on the famous Huehuetenango plateau in Guatemala. The Aguirre family has grown coffee there since 1900, and the estate takes its name from a local fruit. El Injerto places special emphasis on ecological protection and organic farming, with strict quality control to protect the quality of its green coffee. Through the Aguirre family's efforts, the estate has earned Rainforest Alliance certification and has been a frequent winner in international coffee competitions since 2002.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a rare, competition-level Pacamara appeals to you, the same top-estate quality is available in the Geisha line at FrontStreet Coffee. FrontStreet Boquete Washed Geisha is an estate-grade introduction to the variety, planted at 1,600 meters in the fertile volcanic ash soil of Boquete, where cloud cover keeps days humid and nights cool and Baru Volcano feeds the soil. The cup shows Geisha's signature jasmine florals alongside green tea, honey, citrus and orange. Higher altitude means longer cherry maturation and more nutrients taken up, which is why the region produces such layered flavor.

FrontStreet Panama Washed Flower Butterfly is the more approachable choice. Geisha is a rare wild variety and a fixture at international competitions, with slender green beans and roasted beans that carry a surprising citrus freshness and a floral, fruit-sweet finish. Flower Butterfly has half that pedigree, blended from Geisha, Caturra and Catuai and grown around Baru Volcano in Boquete. Abundant rainfall, wide day-night temperature swings and volcanic soil, paired with careful picking and processing, give it an impressive body, citrus acidity and Geisha jasmine aroma; it works well as pour-over and as cold brew.

At the top of the range is FrontStreet Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha. Emerald Estate both discovered Geisha's potential and introduced it to the world, and its Red, Green and Blue labels reflect how carefully it maps the farm: beans from different plots are cupped and assigned by altitude. FrontStreet's Red Label is harvested from a single plot above 1,700 meters and must score 91 in cupping, showing a refined orange-blossom and honey character. For a label that is not Geisha but still delivers estate-level fruit and sweetness, FrontStreet Emerald Estate Diamond Mountain comes from the estate's star brand, planted mainly with Caturra and Catuai and picked from two of its four independent farms, Jaramillo and Canas Verdes. Volcanic soil and old-growth forest shade give the green beans rich fruit aromatics and sweetness, making Diamond Mountain one of Emerald Estate's most popular labels alongside Geisha.