Is Guatemala La Tisha Coffee Delicious? Guatemala Coffee Brewing Methods

Bourbon Coffee

Bourbon coffee (French: Café Bourbon) is coffee from the Bourbon cultivar of Coffea arabica. The variety was first cultivated on Réunion Island, known as Île Bourbon before 1789; the island later came under French control and its coffee spread to Africa and Latin America. Today Bourbon is among the two most widely grown Arabica lineages in the world, typically cultivated at altitudes of 3,500 to 6,500 feet (1,062–1,972 meters).

Caturra: a single-gene mutation of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in the 1950s. It out-yields Bourbon and offers better disease resistance with comparable cup quality. It adapts well across altitudes of 700–1,700 meters, although its yields taper off at the highest elevations.

Coffee Bean Classification

There is still no universal grading standard for green coffee. Every producing country maintains its own system and its own terminology, which is why coffee labels read "SHB," "AA+," "Supremo," "Extra-Fancy," "Peaberry," and so on. Roasted single-origin coffees on the market sometimes carry these grade designations, and the more detailed the grading information on a label, the better the coffee usually is. Ordinary commercial coffee, however, rarely discloses it.

Brewing Parameters

Hand-poured Guatemala La Delicia: 15g of coffee at a medium grind (setting 4 on the Fuji "ghost tooth" burr grinder), a V60 dripper, and water at 88-89°C. Start with a 30g bloom for 27 seconds, then pour up to 105g and stop. Once the water level drops to half, continue pouring slowly until you reach 225g in total. Cut off the tail of the extraction. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, with an extraction time of 2:00.

Coffee Details

Name: Guatemala Finca La Delicia

Country: Guatemala

Grade: SHB

Region: Fraijanes, Guatemala City

Altitude: 1,675 meters

Harvest Period: October through February

Processing Method: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra

Mill: La Delicia Estate

Guatemala Coffee History

Coffee truly took root in Guatemala in 1750, brought by Jesuit priests, and in the late 19th century German settlers built the industry into what it is today. Production is now concentrated in the country's south. Guatemala's seven main growing regions—Antigua, Cobán, Lake Atitlán, Huehuetenango, Fraijanes Plateau, Oriente, and San Marcos—each carry their own climatic signature, so beans from each region show their own personality. Broadly speaking, Guatemalan coffee offers a gentle yet rich texture, elegant aromas, and a pleasant, fruit-like acidity—truly the aristocrat of coffees.

Flavor Profile

Black tea, floral notes, rich caramel sweetness.

Fraijanes Plateau Terroir

Volcanic soil, high altitude, and a humid, rainy climate shaped by active volcanism have given the Fraijanes Plateau its singular growing conditions. The Pacaya volcano, within the region, is the most active of Guatemala's three still-erupting volcanoes, and it frequently dusts the plateau with a light layer of ash that feeds the soil with minerals. During the drying season the plateau enjoys ample sunshine: mornings are often cloudy and foggy, but the haze burns off quickly, guaranteeing the beans plenty of sun.

Coffee has been grown at La Delicia Estate on the Fraijanes Plateau since 1920. The estate plants a diverse mix of varieties, including Bourbon, Caturra, and Pacamara. Of its 205 acres (1 acre = 4,046.8 square meters), 173 are devoted to coffee, while the remaining 32 acres of native forest provide habitat for local wildlife. Several natural springs cross the farm, supplying high-quality irrigation for the coffee during the dry season—and also powering the mill's washing stations.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For drinkers who love La Delicia's gentle acidity and caramel sweetness but want a mellower, lower-acid option for daily brewing, Brazil's classic profile is worth a try. As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazil grows an enormous range of coffees marked by moderate acidity and an excellent balance of sweetness, bitterness, and body—wonderfully suited to a medium roast that brings out nutty aromatics.

FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon: a classic Brazilian single origin from the celebrated Cerrado region. Pulped natural processed and medium roasted, it offers rich aromas of creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut, with a round, non-acidic cup, a touch of gentle bitterness, and the versatility to work as pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, or French press.

FrontStreet Brazil Fazenda Rainha (Queen Estate) Yellow Bourbon: from Mogiana near southern Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil feeds deeply aromatic cherries. The rare Yellow Bourbon—a mutation of Red Bourbon—gives an especially clean fruit character: cane-sugar sweetness you won't find in other origins, layered with fruit and chocolate notes, brewed as pour-over, moka pot, or home espresso.