Guatemala Inhet Estate Single Origin Coffee Flavor Description, Growing Information, and Brewing Suggestions

Guatemalan Pacamara Auction Batch Pandora Fatima-Pacamara PI07

Finca El Injerto: A World-Class Coffee Estate

There are over ten thousand coffee estates worldwide — from commercial-grade producers to quality estates and growers of rare varieties. Here we introduce Finca El Injerto, a renowned premium estate from Guatemala.

Estate Introduction

Finca El Injerto sits in Guatemala's famous Huehuetenango Highlands, where the Aguirre family has grown coffee since 1900. The name "Injerto" comes from a local fruit. The estate puts special emphasis on environmental protection and organic cultivation, with strict quality control over its green beans. Thanks to the Aguirre family's efforts, Finca El Injerto has earned Rainforest Alliance certification and has been a consistent winner in international coffee competitions since 2002.

Finca El Injerto is among Guatemala's very top estates — if it claimed to be second, hardly anyone would dare claim first. Its many world-class awards speak for themselves. Last year the estate's owners raised its profile even further by organizing a global auction in the mold of Panama's famous Hacienda La Esmeralda. The auction lots are extraordinary: the first "Mocha variety" release in 2012 set a world record, selling at an incredible $500.5 per pound and cementing the estate's star status.

For the auction, Finca El Injerto created the "BEST Injerto" series of carefully selected micro-batches and varieties from within the estate. Experienced farmers handpick ripe cherries, and cuppers then eliminate any batch that misses the quality bar. Under this strict selection, the Pacamara variety accounts for only about 8% of total production.

About the Pacamara Variety

Pacamara rose to worldwide fame through the Cup of Excellence in 2004 and racked up championships within 2-3 years. Pacamara grown at Guatemala's Finca El Injerto set a green bean record of $80.2 per pound in 2008. The name comes from a cross between the large-bean Maragogype and the Pacas variety — the first four letters of each. Developed in El Salvador, it produces very large beans similar to elephant beans, around 21-22 screen size. It has been one of Central and South America's outstanding varieties in recent years, with every country and farm hoping to find suitable land for it — much like Panama's Geisha. Pacamara's hallmarks are bright fruit acidity and exceptionally pure, delicate sweetness. Since 2006, COE has cupped Pacamara from 30 estates, and some lots are true superstars: Honduras' 2006 champion Santa Martha, El Salvador's 2007 third-place Cerro Negro (Black Mountain Estate), Guatemala's perennial COE champion El Injerto, and El Salvador's 2008 runner-up Pacamaral. All are excellent Pacamara representatives — but they're award-winning lots, so they command steep prices.

Pacamara plants are medium to tall with short internodes, large corrugated dark-green leaves, and new leaves that are green or brown. The trunk is hard and sturdy with thick, wide branches.

It produces more lateral branches than Typica, similar to Pacas.

The cherries have a small protrusion at the flower disc.

The beans are large and oval — approximately 1.03 cm long, 0.71 cm wide, and 0.37 cm thick.

Depending on altitude, Pacamara beans run about 70% the size of Maragogype beans.

Overall, Pacamara bean sizes sit almost entirely above 17 screen size, with over 90% at 18 screen size or larger.

The cup is full, rich, and complex. Few varieties combine fruit acidity with noticeable sweetness and such diverse character — stone fruit, vanilla, tropical fruit, chocolate, and spice sweetness.

Guatemala La Libertad, Huehuetenango El Injerto Pandora de Fatima

Country: Guatemala

Grade: SHB

Estate: Finca El Injerto

Roast Level: Medium Roast

Processing: Washed

Variety: Pacamara

Batch: Auction Batch Pandora Fatima EI07

Flavor: Chestnut, Plum, Chocolate

For pour-over brewing of El Injerto: use 15 g of coffee, a medium grind (Fuji Royal hand grinder at setting 4), a V60 dripper, and water at 88-89°C. Pour 30 g of water to bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105 g and pause; when the water level drops to half the bed, pour slowly up to 225 g total, avoiding the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If big-beaned Pacamara has piqued your curiosity about Central American coffees, Panama is the natural next stop. FrontStreet Coffee's washed Boquete Gesha — an estate-level entry Gesha grown at 1,600 meters on volcanic ash soil — offers jasmine florals, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange in the cup. For a taste of Gesha heritage at a friendlier price, the FrontStreet Panama Butterfly blends Gesha, Caturra, and Catuai, grown in the Baru volcano area of Boquete; its rich body, citrus acidity, and jasmine aroma shine as pour-over or cold brew.

And for the top of the tree, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Red Label Gesha comes from a single plot above 1,700 meters, cupping at 91+ points, with the classic refined orange-blossom honey character that made Panama Gesha legendary.