Pour-over Brewing Parameters for Guatemala Injerto Estate Pacamara Pandora Fatima

Pour-over Injerto

15 g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost-tooth burr grinder, setting 4), V60 dripper, water at 88-89°C. Begin with a 30 g pour and let it bloom for 27 seconds. Pour again to 105 g and stop. Once the water level in the coffee bed has dropped halfway, resume a slow pour until the total reaches 225 g. Discard the tail end of the brew. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Guatemala Pacamara - Auction Lot Pandora Fatima, Pacamara PI07

The World's Premier Coffee Estate - Injerto

There are more than ten thousand coffee estates in the world, ranging from those that turn out commercial beans to specialty operations and rare-variety farms. Today we look at one of Guatemala's most decorated names: Injerto Estate.

Estate Introduction

Injerto Estate sits in Guatemala's famed Huehuetenango highlands, and the Aguirre family has farmed coffee there since 1900. The name "Injerto" comes from a local fruit. The estate places heavy emphasis on ecological protection and organic cultivation, enforcing strict quality control to safeguard the quality of its green coffee. Through the Aguirre family's work, Injerto has earned Rainforest Alliance certification and has been a consistent winner in international coffee competitions since 2002.

Injerto (sometimes translated as "Grafted Estate") ranks among Guatemala's very top estates. If it claims second place, few would dare claim first. Its long list of world-class competition awards has built that reputation, and last year the owner pushed the estate's standing even higher, in the manner of Panama's renowned La Esmeralda. Injerto runs global auctions, and the lots it releases are, unsurprisingly, remarkable. Its first batch of Mocha variety in 2012 set a world record at an astonishing $500.5 per pound, cementing its status as a true star estate.

For this auction, Injerto introduced the "BEST Injerto" series, a set of carefully selected small lots and exceptional varieties from within the estate. Experienced pickers hand-select ripe cherries, after which cuppers eliminate any lot that fails to meet the standard. Under such strict selection, Pacamara accounts for only about 8% of the estate's total production.

About the Pacamara Variety

Pacamara rose to worldwide fame through the Cup of Excellence in 2004, going on to win championships again and again within two to three years. Pacamara from Guatemala's Injerto Estate set a record green-bean price of $80.2 per pound in 2008.

The variety takes its name from its parents: it is a hybrid of Maragogype (Elephant Bean) and Pacas, and "Pacamara" simply combines the first four letters of each. Developed in El Salvador, it is an outstanding variety whose beans are very large, close to Elephant Bean size at roughly screen 21-22. In recent years it has become a standout in Central and South America, with every country and farm hoping to find the right terroir for it, much as Panama has done with Geisha. Pacamara's hallmarks are a bright fruit acidity and an exceptionally pure, delicate sweetness, even though it still resembles its cousin, the Elephant Bean, in appearance.

Since 2006, the Cup of Excellence has cupped Pacamara from 30 estates. Some have been genuine superstars, among them Honduras' 2006 champion Santa Martha, El Salvador's 2007 third-place Cerro Negro (Black Mountain Estate), Guatemala's perennial COE winner El Injerto, and El Salvador's 2008 runner-up Pacamal Estate. All are excellent representatives of the variety, but as award-winning lots they are also very expensive.

Pacamara delivers a full, rich and complex cup. Few varieties manage to combine fruit acidity with pronounced sweetness while also showing stone fruit, vanilla-like botanical notes, tropical fruit, chocolate and spiced sweetness.

Product Information

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

Coffee Details

Name: Guatemala La Libertad, Huehuetenango El Injerto Pandora de Fatima

Country: Guatemala

Grade: SHB

Estate: Injerto Estate

Roast Level: Medium roast

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Pacamara

Batch: Auction lot Pandora Fatima EI07

Flavor Notes: Chestnut, plum, chocolate

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Pacamara is all about scale, sweetness and depth, and if that style appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete washed Geisha makes a fascinating counterpoint. Grown at 1,600 meters on mineral-rich volcanic ash soil, it is an estate-level Geisha that trades the big-bodied Pacamara structure for a lifted, perfumed cup: jasmine florals, green tea, honey and a bright orange-citrus sweetness.

For a broader take on the same region, FrontStreet Coffee Panama Butterfly carries half Geisha pedigree, a blend of Geisha, Caturra and Catuai planted around the Baru volcano in Boquete. The area's heavy rainfall, wide day-to-night temperature swing and volcanic rock soils give it real richness, with Geisha jasmine aromatics layered over the citrus acidity and a rounded, full body. It handles both pour-over and cold brew well.

If you want the most refined expression, FrontStreet Coffee Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha is picked from a single plot above 1,700 meters and cupped at 91, offering a polished tangerine-honey profile. Whichever bag you choose, brew it as a pour-over and let the cup cool a little, so the floral and citrus layers have room to open up.