Guatemala Winey Natural Coffee Flavor Profile and Characteristics

The Origin and Characteristics of Pacas Coffee

Pacas was first discovered in 1949 by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. Fernando Alberto Pacas Figuero found some plants with different morphological characteristics on the family's Finca San Rafael estate, after which he began collecting seeds and conducting 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, began researching the Pacas variety with the help of Professor William Cogwill from Florida. They compared the San Ramon Bourbon variety with an "unknown" new variety, and this "unknown" variety demonstrated completely different characteristics, with plant morphology distinct from Bourbon, featuring shorter internodal distances and larger fruiting areas. Finally, they named this variety "Pacas."

Guatemala: Premium Arabica Coffee Producer

Guatemala is a renowned high-quality Arabica coffee producing country in Central America. Coffees from its five volcanic regions and three non-volcanic regions are highly distinctive and enjoy an excellent reputation in the international market.

New Oriente Region

In this region, coffee has been cultivated exclusively by small farmers since the 1950s. Today, every farmer in the mountainous area is a coffee production unit. This region was once Guatemala's most remote and poorest area but now shows vibrant vitality. With abundant rainfall and cloud cover, New Oriente was an ancient volcanic region where the soil evolved from volcanic metamorphic rocks, providing rich minerals and balanced nutrition, unlike other volcanic coffee-producing regions.

Brewing Instructions

For pour-over Guatemala winey natural processed coffee: use 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost-toothed grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then inject to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half before continuing to pour. Slowly inject until reaching 225g total water. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Ingredients: house-roasted
Shelf life: 30 days
Net weight: 227g
Packaging: bulk
Taste: neutral
Coffee bean state: roasted beans
Contains sugar: no
Origin: Guatemala
Coffee type: other
Roast level: medium roast

Guatemala Plan del Guayabo Estate

Country: Guatemala
Region: New Oriente
Estate: Cardilas Estate
Grade: SHB
Processing: winey natural processing

Terroir

Rich volcanic soil, lower humidity, abundant sunshine, and cool nights characterize Guatemala's coffee lands. In the famous Antigua valley, surrounded by three volcanoes - Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango - volcanic ash from eruptions has enriched the soil with minerals, while volcanic pumice helps retain moisture, overcoming the drawback of low rainfall. Dense tree shade prevents occasional frost damage.

Variety: Pacas
Altitude: 1675 meters
Flavor: passion fruit, strawberry sandwich cookies, blueberry

Guatemala has numerous volcanoes, and coffees produced in volcanic soil are rich-flavored specialty coffees. The country's average altitude is quite high, which means coffee trees grow in environments with significant day-night temperature differences. This harsh environment of large temperature variations causes coffee cherries to grow longer and slower on the trees, resulting in hard beans with more complete, richer flavors.

Characteristics

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

This batch of newly arrived coffee beans comes from the top-tier Cardilas Estate in Guatemala's New Oriente region.

Winey Natural Processing Flavor Notes

Pineapple, melon, dried apricot, candied lemon peel, Bordeaux wine, green tea with cinnamon spice, overall filled with rich sweetness and the full aroma of smoked preserved plums.

Pacas Variety Information

Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon, similar to Brazil's Catuai and Costa Rica's Villa Sarchi. Like other widely cultivated Bourbon mutations, Pacas is a new variety formed by single-gene mutation, which also gives Pacas a crucial characteristic: plants can be planted more densely, ultimately resulting in higher unit yields.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Winey naturals are best showcased with a pour-over, and the V60 is FrontStreet Coffee's dripper of choice. Designed by Hario in Tokyo, the V60's 60-degree cone and single large opening enable fast, controllable extraction that renders aromas three-dimensional and acidity lively - ideal for a fruit-forward winey lot like this one, where florals, fruit acids, sweetness, and tea notes all need room to unfold.

If you prefer a heavier, low-acid counterpart for comparison, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling offers herbal, dark chocolate, and caramel depth with a thick body, while Brazil Fazenda Rainha brings nut, cocoa, and caramel sweetness in a smooth, balanced cup - both also excellent through a V60.

Brew with the parameters above: 15g of coffee at a coarse-sugar-like medium grind, 88-89°C water, a 1:15 ratio, a 27-second bloom, and steady three-stage pours to 105g and 225g for a clean, sweet, wine-lifted cup.