How are Guatemala Huehuetenango Coffee Beans Flavor Description and Growing Region Characteristics

Introduction to Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Guatemalan Huehuetenango Coffee

When starting to drink coffee, it's easy to confuse Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee with Guatemalan Huehuetenango coffee because both beans are acidic. It's normal to not be able to tell them apart at first. FrontStreet Coffee will tell you how to distinguish between these two coffee beans.

Coffee is an agricultural product, meaning it represents the flavor characteristics of a growing region. African Ethiopian coffee has bright acidity and floral aromas, representing African beans; Central and South American Guatemalan coffee, due to volcanic soil, has rich flavor with nutty and chocolate notes, plus a smoky sensation, making it representative of Central American coffee.

The Unique Characteristics of Guatemalan Coffee

Perhaps some people don't like this type of smoky coffee, but it's precisely this smoky quality that makes it distinctly different from other coffees. Compared to other coffee varieties, cuppers prefer this mixed-flavor coffee with spicy notes. Guatemalan coffee ranks among the world's top coffees. Guatemala's high-altitude volcanic terrain provides ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. The strictly hard beans (SHB) from this region are rare excellent coffee - full-bodied, delicious, with balanced acidity. Additionally, its giant coffee beans have also drawn significant attention to Guatemala.

FrontStreet Coffee's Daily Selection Beans

The reason FrontStreet Coffee offers daily selection beans is because FrontStreet Coffee knows that coffee flavors vary from each producing country and region. To help everyone better taste the different coffee flavors from various producing countries and regions, FrontStreet Coffee offers 8 different daily selection beans from various producing countries, including Panamanian Geisha coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's daily selection beans are the most representative coffees from each producing country, offering great value and perfect for tasting and choosing your preferred flavors.

Geographical and Historical Context

The smoky quality of Guatemalan coffee is inevitably related to the local volcanic soil. Guatemala is located in the center of North and South America, occupying an important position in Central America. Guatemala covers an area of approximately 108,899 square kilometers. The country's terrain can be divided into: highland volcanoes, lowland tropical forests, Pacific coastal volcanic sandy plains, and Caribbean coastal virgin lands. The Sierra Madre mountain range of Central America spans east to west across Guatemala, covering about 2/3 of the country, with 34 volcanoes within its borders. In this country, rivers and lakes dot the landscape, while equatorial forests and plains jungles cover the land. The Pacific and Caribbean coasts also feature undeveloped volcanic beaches.

Coffee was truly introduced to Guatemala in 1750 by Jesuit priests, and by the end of the 19th century, German colonists developed the coffee industry here. Today, most coffee production takes place in the southern part of the country. Guatemala has eight major coffee-producing regions, each producing coffee with different flavors, but generally speaking, Guatemalan coffee presents a gentle and mellow overall texture, with elegant aroma and a special, pleasant acidity similar to fruit acids, making it truly the aristocrat of coffees. Among these, Antigua Classic (Antigua Classic) is highly recommended by global coffee connoisseurs.

Guatemalan Coffee Regions

Guatemala has eight coffee-producing regions, all located on highland terrain under subtropical climate conditions, with abundant and stable rainfall, and fertile volcanic ash soil, providing extremely suitable natural environmental conditions for coffee cultivation throughout Guatemala.

Guatemala's coffee-growing areas include: Antigua, Huehuetenango, Cobán, San Marcos, Atitlán, Acatenango, Fraijanes, and Nuevo Oriente.

Antigua

The Antigua region is world-recognized as Guatemala's most popular coffee-producing region. The soil in the Antigua region is rich in nutrients, these abundant nutrients come from minerals deposited after nearby volcanic eruptions. The still-active Fuego volcano continues to deposit new minerals, keeping the soil fertile. Fertile soil, abundant rainfall, and stable temperatures make Antigua region coffee world-famous.

The charm of Antigua lies in its balanced, smooth fruit acidity and rich spicy flavor. The coffee not only has smooth beans with high hardness and good quality, but also a perfect combination of richness and sweetness, plus a hint of smoky flavor that emphasizes its depth and mystery. The smoky flavor is particularly unique. FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection includes a Flora coffee bean from the Antigua region. The Flora coffee bean is washed processed, with varieties including Caturra and Catuai, featuring citrus, nut, and cocoa aftertaste - overall refined and elegant.

Huehuetenango

FrontStreet Coffee's daily selection Huehuetenango coffee doesn't have the strong smoky flavor of other regions, but instead offers a more comfortable experience with rich fruit flavors. Among Guatemala's three non-volcanic regions, the Huehuetenango area is the highest and driest. Although Guatemala has many highlands, in coffee region terminology, only Huehuetenango can be called "Huehuetenango Highlands." The coffee flavor in this region belongs to the typical S.H.B. (Strictly Hard Bean) category, worthy of being called the champion of Guatemalan coffee.

The coffee flavor produced in Huehuetenango Highlands is typical strictly hard bean - although the floral and fruit aroma is slightly weaker, it has lively, bright fruit acidity, grapefruit citrus aroma, berry fragrance, and body, making it the crown of Guatemalan coffee and a favorite among acidity lovers. It sometimes has lemon or citrus fragrance, similar to the tone of Yirgacheffe. Most winning coffee beans in Guatemala's annual coffee competitions come from Huehuetenango Highlands, often winning cupping competition awards. FrontStreet Coffee has also chosen Huehuetenango coffee as the representative of Guatemalan coffee.

Huehuetenango is a coffee-producing region located in the most remote northwestern highlands of Guatemala. The name Huehuetenango also has ancient origins, coming from the Nahuatl language, meaning "land of the ancients (or ancestors)," and is one of the country's three non-volcanic producing regions.

Coffee cultivation in Huehuetenango began in the 19th century, continuously improving and refining processing methods to enhance overall quality, gradually bringing coffee to perfection. Some high-quality coffee estates are situated in valleys between mountains, where unique microclimate changes create distinctive coffee flavors. This region has the driest climate and highest altitude among Guatemala's coffee zones, with coffee grown at 1800-2100 meters. Meanwhile, warm, moist air from the Caribbean Sea from the central mountain range means the area is high but not cold, often shrouded in clouds and mist with variable climate. It belongs to the volcanic zone with fertile volcanic soil. Located at the edge of plate tectonic activity, it has many alpine basin terrains. Dry, hot winds from Mexico's Tehuantepec plateau protect the region's coffee beans from frost damage. Local people plant coffee trees in areas up to nearly 2000 meters - truly a heavenly environment for coffee growth. Although Huehuetenango has a dry climate, streams crisscross the area, providing plenty of clean water for irrigation or supplying washing stations. During harvest season, washing can be done directly on the mountains.

New Oriente

With abundant rainfall and year-round cloud shade, the climate of New Oriente is similar to Cobán, with only minor differences. Formerly a volcanic area, the soil contains metamorphic rocks. Minerals in the soil are balanced by the abundance of metamorphic rocks. Coffee cultivation also differs from typical Guatemalan volcanic areas - New Oriente coffee grows in volcanic soil but without volcanic activity during the growing period.

Guatemalan Coffee Varieties

Guatemalan coffee varieties are very diverse, mainly Bourbon, Typica, Catuai, and Caturra, with small amounts of Yellow Bourbon, Geisha, and Pacamara - a typical American coffee variety mix. Bourbon is the origin of many coffee varieties today, first discovered on Réunion Island. When it was brought to the Americas, its characteristics changed. The hybrid variety Caturra was first successfully cultivated in Brazil, with shorter trees and stronger wind and rain resistance. Catuai is a hybrid of Mundo Novo and Caturra, with short, stout trees and extremely high yields when properly fertilized. FrontStreet Coffee selected this coffee bean because it can express the regional flavor of Guatemalan coffee's fruit acidity and nut fusion.

Guatemalan Coffee Processing Methods

Guatemalan coffee beans are processed using the washing method, with 45% being specialty grade - a quite high proportion, along with a small amount of robusta beans.

Washed processing: After harvesting, selected coffee cherries are put into a depulper to initially remove the skin and pulp. Then the coffee beans with remaining pulp mucilage are placed in water for about 24 hours of fermentation. After fermentation, they are placed in flowing water channels for washing, then the coffee beans are dried in the sun or using drying machines until the moisture content drops to about 12%, then transferred to warehouses, and finally the parchment is removed from the raw coffee beans awaiting sale. This processing method can produce very clean flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Parameters for Guatemalan Coffee

To present elegant floral aroma, tea-like quality, and fruit fragrance, FrontStreet Coffee shortened the caramelization time after first crack and used medium roasting. When brewing this bean, to maximize the aroma expression from the beans, FrontStreet Coffee uses higher water temperature and finer grind.

FrontStreet Coffee's specific brewing parameters are: V60 dripper, water temperature 91°C, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, coffee amount 15g, medium-fine grind size (80% pass-through rate with China #20 standard sieve).

FrontStreet Coffee's segmented extraction technique: First use 30g of water to fully wet the coffee bed into a "hamburger" shape for 30s bloom; second segment - at 1'00" on the timer, inject water to 125g, then wait for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the coffee bed before injecting the third segment; third segment - at 1'40" on the timer, inject water to 225g, waiting for the coffee to completely finish dripping with total extraction time of 1'59". Total brewing time is 2'00". After extraction is complete, gently shake to ensure the coffee is fully mixed before tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Suggestions

To brew a good cup of coffee, you still need to pay attention to the freshness of coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that coffee bean freshness greatly affects coffee flavor, so FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when they receive it. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at peak flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee gently reminds: if coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the package can also help the coffee flavor become mellow, so you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the coffee powder. However, coffee powder needs to be brewed promptly, because coffee powder oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better enjoy the coffee's flavor.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473