Differences, Distinctions, and Awards of Guatemala New Oriental Catillas Wine-Aroma Natural Pacas

Product Information

Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Flavor Profile: Balanced
Bean State: Roasted Coffee Beans
Sugar Content: Sugar-free
Origin: Guatemala
Coffee Type: Specialty
Roast Level: Medium Roast

Guatemala Plan del Guayabo Estate

Country: Guatemala

Region: New Oriente

Estate: Cardenas Estate

Grade: SHB

Processing Method: Winey Natural Process

New Oriente Region

Fertile volcanic soil, low humidity, abundant sunshine, and cool nights characterize this region. The valley is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Volcanic ash from eruptions enriches the soil with minerals in the Antigua region. Volcanic pumice retains moisture, overcoming the low rainfall of the Antigua region, and dense tree shade prevents occasional frost damage.

Variety: Pacas

Altitude: 1675 meters

Flavor Notes: Passion fruit, strawberry sandwich cookies, blueberry

Guatemala is a country of many volcanoes, and coffee grown in volcanic soil produces rich, flavorful specialty coffee. Guatemala's average altitude is quite high, so coffee trees grow in environments with wide day-to-night temperature swings. These harsh conditions let the cherries mature longer and more slowly on the tree, producing hard beans with more complete and rich flavors.

Characteristics: Rich wet aroma, good balance, high sweetness, elegant and smooth mouthfeel.

This newly arrived coffee comes from the Cardenas Estate, a premium estate in the New Oriente region of Guatemala.

Winey Natural Flavor Profile: Pineapple, muskmelon, dried apricots, candied lemon peel, Bordeaux wine, green tea with cinnamon spices, and an overall rich sweetness with a full-bodied aroma of smoked plums.

Pacas Variety

Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon, similar to Caturra from Brazil and Villa Sarchi from Costa Rica. Like other widely cultivated Bourbon mutations, Pacas is a new variety formed by a single gene mutation, which gives it a crucial characteristic: the plants can be planted more densely, ultimately yielding higher production per unit area.

Pacas was first discovered in 1949 by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. Fernando Alberto Pacas Figueroa noticed some plants with different morphology on the family's Finca San Rafael estate, then began collecting seeds and selective breeding, later developing about 3/4 hectare of Pacas pioneer nursery.

By 1956, Francisco de Sola and Fernando's son, Fernando Alberto Pacas Trujillo, with the help of Florida professor William Cogwill, began researching the Pacas variety. They compared San Ramon Bourbon with an unknown new variety, and this unknown variety showed completely different characteristics, with plant morphology different from Bourbon: shorter internodal spacing and larger fruiting areas. In the end they named the variety Pacas.

Guatemala is a renowned high-quality Arabica-producing country in Central America. Coffee from its five volcanic regions and three non-volcanic regions is very distinctive and enjoys an excellent reputation on the international market.

Brewing Recommendations

Hand-pour Guatemala Winey Natural Process: 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji R4 grinder), V60 dripper, water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops halfway, then slowly pour until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

New Oriente Region

Coffee in this region has been grown entirely by small farmers since the 1950s, and today every farmer in the mountainous area is a coffee production unit. The area was once Guatemala's most remote and poorest, but it now shows vibrant energy. Rainy and cloudy, New Oriente was an ancient volcanic region where the soil evolved from volcanic metamorphic rock, rich in minerals and nutritionally balanced, different from other volcanic coffee regions.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the winey, fruit-forward character of this natural Pacas appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's natural-process lineup is a natural next step. The Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry is made from fully ripe whole cherries, dried on raised beds and turned every 2-3 hours in the first days to avoid uneven heat and over-fermentation. Roasted light-medium, it pairs Yirgacheffe's elegant florals and bright acidity with pronounced tropical fruit, a full fermented character, and plenty of sweetness.

For something bolder, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Huakui comes from Gugi Hambela in Ethiopia, where altitudes reach 2300 meters, giving the cherries a long growing season that becomes complex, layered aroma. With a natural process and a medium-light roast, it shows a light fermented note plus florals, citrus, and mango, with a dense, complex body, honeyed sweetness, cocoa, a hint of spice, and a long finish.

And if you like the idea of fermentation adding complexity, FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia Xizhua uses a double anaerobic natural process: whole cherries are sealed in tanks and flushed with carbon dioxide to create an oxygen-free environment, slowing the breakdown of sugars in the mucilage and the drop in pH, which yields higher sweetness, more complex flavor, and a creamy texture. Dried on raised beds afterward, it delivers intense tropical fruit aroma with passion fruit, apricot, dried fruit, and grape complexity and an almond-like finish.