Is Guatemala's Wine-Aromatic Natural Process Coffee Delicious? Guatemala Coffee Brewing Methods

Pacas: A Natural Bourbon Variety

Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon, in the same family as Brazil's Caturra and Costa Rica's Villa Sarchi. Like other widely cultivated Bourbon mutations, Pacas arose from a single-gene mutation, which gives it one crucial trait: the plants can be grown much more densely, ultimately raising yield per unit of land.

Discovery and Development

Pacas was first discovered in 1949 by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. On their Finca San Rafael, Fernando Alberto Pacas Figueroa noticed plants with a different morphology. He began collecting seeds and running selection breeding, eventually developing about 3/4 hectare of Pacas "pioneer nursery."

By 1956, Francisco de Sola and Fernando's son, Fernando Alberto Pacas Trujillo, began studying the variety with the help of Florida professor William Cogwill. They compared San Ramon Bourbon against the "unknown" new variety, which proved entirely different - its plant morphology distinct from Bourbon, with shorter internodal distances and a larger fruiting area. They named it "Pacas."

Guatemala: Premium Arabica Producer

Guatemala is a renowned producer of high-quality Arabica in Central America. Coffee from its five volcanic regions and three non-volcanic regions is highly distinctive and enjoys an excellent reputation internationally.

New Oriente® Region

Coffee here has been grown entirely by small farmers since the 1950s; today every farmer in the mountains is a coffee-production unit in miniature. New Oriente was once Guatemala's most remote and impoverished area, but it now shows vibrant vitality. Rainfall is abundant and skies often cloudy. This was an ancient volcanic region whose soil evolved from volcanic metamorphic rock - mineral-rich and nutritionally balanced, and quite different from other volcanic coffee areas.

Brewing Method

Hand-poured Guatemala wine-flavored natural process. 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost tooth blade #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 in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Content: 227g
Packaging: Bulk
Taste: Neutral
Coffee Bean Raw/Cooked Degree: Roasted coffee beans
Contains Sugar: No sugar
Origin: Guatemala
Coffee Type: Other
Roast Degree: Medium roast

Guatemala Plan del Guayabo Estate

Country: Guatemala
Region: New Oriente
Estate: Cardilas Estate
Grade: SHB
Processing Method: Wine-flavored natural process

Terroir Characteristics

Rich volcanic soil, low humidity, abundant sunshine, and cool nights define this producing region. The valley is surrounded by three volcanoes - Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango - whose eruptions have enriched Antigua's soil with minerals. Volcanic pumice retains moisture, overcoming the region's low rainfall, and dense tree shade guards against occasional frost.

Coffee Details

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

Guatemala is a land of many volcanoes, and coffee grown in volcanic soil makes for rich specialty coffee. The country's high average altitude means coffee trees grow under significant day-night temperature swings, letting the cherries develop longer and more slowly on the tree - the result is hard beans with more complete, complex flavors.

Characteristics

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

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

Wine-Flavored Natural Process Flavor Notes

Pineapple, muskmelon, dried apricots, candied lemon peel, Bordeaux wine, green tea and cinnamon spices, overall filled with rich sweetness and the full-bodied aroma of smoky preserved plums.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Natural (sun-dried) processing is the oldest coffee preparation method and still the most widely used. Ripe cherries are laid out in the sun whole, dried until the moisture content is met, then hulled. Because the fruit pulp stays intact through drying, naturals carry greater body and more readily develop rich, ripe fruit tones. The method demands dependable weather - generally 27 to 30 days of continuous sunshine. Ethiopia, with its high altitude, dry climate, and scarce water, is a major natural-process origin: cherries are harvested and spread flat on raised net beds, kept off the ground away from insects, dust, and bacteria, and turned regularly for even drying.

FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry: from the famous Yirgacheffe region, using only fully ripe, all-red cherries dried on raised beds. After a medium-light roast it keeps its elegant florals and bright acidity while adding distinct tropical fruit flavors, a full fermentation character, and rich sweetness.

FrontStreet Natural Guji (Hua Kui): from Ethiopia's Sidamo zone, where superb high-altitude growing conditions and fertile soils give the beans their delicate aromatics. A medium-light roast brings light fermentation notes, florals, citrus, and mango in a fuller, more complex cup, with honey sweetness, a cocoa undertone touched with spice, thick body, and a long finish.

FrontStreet 2013 Natural Yunnan: grown on FrontStreet's own estate from Typica. Yunnan has only dry and rainy seasons, and the cherries ripen in the sunnier months, so the coffee is sun-dried. Long exposure to sunlight accentuates the natural nutty tones while keeping sweet-tart balance - a touch sweeter than a typical washed coffee - with berry-like acidity, hints of dried apricot and brown sugar, and a slight tea feel.

FrontStreet Brazil Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate): instead of the semi-washed method common across Brazil, this estate dries whole cherries on drying racks, turning them constantly so every cherry meets the sun, then finishes with mechanical drying to the target moisture. The stable, low-moisture beans keep well, and brewed by pour-over, French press, or drip bag they show the fresh sweetness of sugarcane juice, black tea, smooth fruit sweetness, distinct nutty notes, gentle balanced acidity, clean and mild bitterness, and rich chocolate aroma in a bright, silky cup.