Guatemala La Tisa Flavor Profile and Aroma | Guatemala Coffee Varieties and Prices

Brewing Instructions

Hand-poured Guatemala La Dicha. Use 15g of coffee grounds, medium grind (Fuji ghost tooth burr grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 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 to halfway, then slowly pour until you reach 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Guatemala Finca La Dicha

Country: Guatemala

Grade: SHB

Region: Fraijanes, Guatemala City

Altitude: 1,675 meters

Harvest period: October to February of the following year

Processing method: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra

Processing mill: La Dicha Estate

Coffee was truly introduced to Guatemala in 1750 by Jesuit priests, and German colonists developed the local coffee industry in the late 19th century. Today, most coffee production is concentrated in the southern part of the country. Guatemala has seven main coffee-producing regions: Antigua, Coban, Atitlan, Huehuetenango, Fraijanes, Oriente, and San Marcos. Each region has its own climate variation, so beans from each area carry distinct characteristics. Generally speaking, Guatemalan coffee has a gentle, rich overall texture, with elegant aromas and a pleasant, fruit-like acidity that is warm and enjoyable — truly the aristocrat of coffees.

Flavor profile: Black tea, floral notes, rich caramel sensation

Fraijanes Plateau Terroir

Volcanic soil, high altitude, a humid and rainy climate, and active volcanism have created the unique geographical conditions of the Fraijanes Plateau. The Pacaya volcano within this area is the most active of Guatemala's three still-erupting volcanoes, often shrouding the plateau in a thin layer of ash and feeding the soil abundant minerals. The coffee dry season coincides with the Fraijanes Plateau's sunniest stretch. Although early mornings are often cloudy and foggy, the mist dissipates quickly, ensuring excellent sun exposure.

Coffee cultivation at La Dicha Estate in the Fraijanes Plateau began in 1920. The estate grows diverse varieties including Bourbon, Caturra, and Pacamara. Of the total 205-acre farm (where 1 acre = 4,046.8 square meters), 173 acres are devoted to coffee cultivation, while the remaining 32 acres of native forest serve as habitat for local wildlife. The farm contains several natural springs that provide ample, high-quality irrigation during the dry season, and they also power the coffee processing plant (water for washed processing).

Coffee Varieties

Bourbon coffee (French: Café Bourbon) is coffee produced from Arabica trees of the Bourbon cultivar. Bourbon was first cultivated on Réunion Island, called Île Bourbon before 1789. It was later spread by France to connect with the African continent and Latin America, and it is now one of the world's two most popular Arabica production lineages. Bourbon coffee is typically grown at altitudes between 3,500 and 6,500 feet (1,062-1,972 meters).

Caturra: A single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. It has higher production capacity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with comparable flavor quality. It grows well at 700-1,700 meters and adapts to a wide range of altitudes, though yields decline at the higher end.

Coffee Grading Systems

Today, the grading systems used by coffee-producing regions around the world are not unified. Each country has its own system and grading names, so you may see terms like "SHB," "AA+," "Supremo," "Extra-Fancy," and "Peaberries/small fruits" on coffee labels — these are coffee bean grading names. Roasted coffee sold on the market sometimes indicates the grade of a single-origin coffee. The more detailed the grading information, the better the quality usually is, though most ordinary coffees don't carry this information at all.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Guatemala's elegant, fruit-like acidity and tea-like finish make it a natural fit for a V60, and it pairs well on the shelf with other pour-over-friendly origins. FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Gedingding is a great starting point for anyone new to hand pouring: it shows vivid citrus, berry, and floral notes with a green-tea sweetness, and its acidity is soft and bright — more like the natural sweet-tartness of fruit than anything sharp, which makes it very easy to like even if you don't think of yourself as a fan of "acidic" coffee.

For more intensity, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Little Tomato is a washed Kenyan single origin built around bright cherry tomato and smoked plum acidity with a full, juicy body. It comes from Kenya's Thika region, grown at 1550-1750 meters, using the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties with Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation to draw out the fruit while keeping the cup clean and pure. Light roasted to preserve its lively acidity, it opens with dried cherry tomato and florals in the dry aroma, then clear cherry tomato and smoked plum on the palate, with mid-cup sweetness, pear and black plum, and a long, clean finish of yellow sugar and a hint of green tea.