Introduction to Guatemala Antigua Coffee Region - Analysis of Flora De Dios Coffee Bean Roasting and Brewing Techniques Sharing

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The high-altitude mountainous regions of Guatemala's coffee-growing areas are rich in mineral volcanic soil with fertile texture. In the tropical climate zone with abundant sunshine and humid sea breezes from the Pacific Ocean, the favorable climatic environment produces coffee with floral aromas and citrus acidity. FrontStreet Coffee has discovered that whether it's medium-light roasted single-origin coffee beans or medium-dark roasted espresso blend coffee beans, their floral characteristics are truly surprising.

Did Guatemala Experience a Coffee Industry Crisis in 2020?

According to Coffee Finance Network and Bloomberg reports, Guatemala is facing a severe coffee industry crisis—rising costs exceeding market prices have hindered the country's coffee production growth. Juan Luis Barrios, president of Guatemala's National Coffee Association, stated: "Current coffee prices are insufficient to maintain minimum living standards. Small and medium-sized coffee estates cannot afford production costs, and coffee farmers lack motivation to expand production."

As global temperatures rise and climate patterns deteriorate, weather conditions are increasingly harming growers, bringing more adverse events. In 2020, the Caribbean, Central America, and the United States experienced record-breaking storms, marking one of the three warmest years on record. The increased moisture from storms has raised the incidence of fungal diseases such as leaf rust. Additionally, this year's COVID-19 pandemic has pushed up coffee production costs, mainly in harvesting and logistics transportation. Therefore, given the current situation, costs for new season Guatemala coffee beans will only be higher than last year's $190-$230 per bag level, further exacerbating the local industry crisis.

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Coffee Comes from the Antigua Region

Antigua, full name Antigua Guatemala (meaning old Guatemala), is a famous ancient city located in the Central American country of Guatemala, about 40 kilometers west of the capital Guatemala City, founded in 1543. Antigua was built in the Panchoy Valley at an altitude of 1,500 meters, surrounded by mountains and several volcanoes. Its location near the peaks of the Agua and Fuego volcanoes means the area's center is frequently threatened by earthquakes.

The numerous volcanoes provide incredibly fertile soil for the Antigua coffee region. The large temperature difference between day and night slows coffee tree growth, allowing for richer flavor development in coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the high altitude and rich minerals give coffee beans from this region white floral aromas and soft citrus fruit acidity.

Antigua Flora De Dios Coffee Bean Varieties

This coffee bean that FrontStreet Coffee acquired uses Bourbon and Caturra varieties. Bourbon: a natural mutation of Typica. When coffee cherries ripen, they display a wine-red color, and the coffee beans are relatively round in shape. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has excellent aroma and bright acidity, with flavor characteristics similar to red wine. Caturra's appearance is very similar to Bourbon, making distinction somewhat difficult, but the Caturra variety's end portion is slightly more curved than Bourbon, round and slender.

Antigua Flora De Dios Coffee Bean Processing Method

This coffee uses the washed processing method. The washed processing method involves putting selected coffee cherries into a depulper to initially remove the skin and pulp. The coffee beans with remaining pulp and mucilage are placed in water to ferment for about 18-36 hours. After fermentation, the coffee beans with parchment are placed in flowing water channels to wash away pulp and mucilage. After washing, the coffee beans are dried to reduce moisture content to about 12%, finally removing the parchment from the coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee believes that washed-processed beans have a cleaner and brighter mouthfeel, with very lively acidity expression.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Records

These green coffee beans are round, green with yellow tones, have good uniformity, and medium moisture content. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster aims for a medium roast—to preserve the bright acidity that showcases floral and fruity aromas while enhancing richness and balance.

Heat to 200°C, open the damper to 3, after 30 seconds adjust heat to 160°C, damper unchanged. Return to temperature at 1'36", maintain heat. At 4'50", the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. Reduce heat to 140°C, adjust damper to 4. At 4'50" dehydration complete, heat reduced to 140°C. At 8'32", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 8'37", first crack begins, reduce heat to 80°C, open damper fully to 5 (adjust heat very carefully—don't reduce it so much that cracking stops). Develop for 1'50" after first crack, then drop at 195.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Experience

Brewing coffee via pour-over can highlight a coffee's excellent flavors. To emphasize the floral tones and citrus flavors of this Flora De Dios coffee, FrontStreet Coffee uses a Hario V60 dripper with the following specific parameters:

• Coffee grounds: 15g
• Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
• Water temperature: 92°C
• Grind size: Medium-fine (78% pass-through rate on #20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee brewing method: First, pour 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. Then, pour in a circular motion outside the center line for 90g, reaching 120g total. When the water level drops to halfway, pour 105g of water, reaching 225g total. End extraction when all coffee liquid has dripped into the server below, with a total time of 1 minute 55 seconds.

V60 brewing flavor: This brewing method produces light jasmine floral and fruit aromas. The entry features bright citrus acidity, the mid-section reveals honey sweetness, and the aftertaste carries chocolate notes. As it cools, smoky notes gradually emerge.

FrontStreet Coffee Smart Dripper Brewing Experience

The Smart Dripper, also known as the "lazy cup," means that as long as you're familiar with the parameters, you can easily make coffee with stable flavors. To embody the convenience of this "lazy cup"—ahem, Smart Dripper—we ensure no technique interference. Specific operations and parameters are as follows:

• Coffee grounds: 15g
• Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16
• Grind size: Fine (83% pass-through rate on #20 sieve)
• Water temperature: 93°C

FrontStreet Coffee brewing method: Place filter paper, add coffee grounds, pour 240g of water. The pouring method is simple—heat the kettle to 93°C and pour 240g in one go. If you're worried about pouring too much, you can first measure 240g of water with a scale or measuring cup, so you don't have to worry about over-pouring even with a large flow. After pouring, cover with the lid and start timing. After 4 minutes, open the lid and place the Smart Dripper on a mug, letting all the coffee liquid flow into the mug.

Smart Dripper brewing flavor: This brewing method tends toward balance, tasting like the sweet and sour notes of mikan citrus, with obvious chocolate and maple flavors in the middle to late sections, creating a substantial mouthfeel.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473