Starbucks Guatemala Antigua La Minita Estate Flora Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics and Origin Story

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala coffee is characterized by its inherent smoky sensation, and the FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor coffee beans from La Minita Estate, mentioned in this article, bring double surprises to the palate. Beyond the slight smoky sensation, these FrontStreet Coffee La Flor coffee beans also deliver delicate white floral aromas, creating a sensation as surprising as finding a flower blooming in a volcanic landscape.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor

Region: Antigua region
Estate: La Minita family
Altitude: 1200-1600m
Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra
Processing: Washed
Grade: SHB

Antigua Region

The Antigua region is located in the central highlands of Guatemala and is a famous ancient city in Central America. Built in the Panchoy Valley at an altitude of 1500 meters, it is surrounded by mountain ranges and multiple volcanoes, positioned near the peaks of Agua and Fuego volcanoes. The chain of volcanoes not only provides Antigua with beautiful scenic landscapes but also enriches the surrounding land with mineral-rich volcanic ash from each eruption, creating fertile growing conditions for plants and coffee trees. The region experiences a subtropical monsoon climate with abundant rainfall and fertile volcanic ash soil, producing coffee with bright acidity and fruity aromas, making Antigua a renowned coffee-producing region in Guatemala.

La Minita Family

La Minita is a multinational estate with its flagship estate in Tarrazú, Costa Rica. The La Minita family established their own coffee brand "La Flor del Cafe" in Guatemala, meaning "Coffee Flower," which translates to "La Flor" in Chinese.

The La Minita family has earned an excellent reputation for green bean processing and quality control, providing the industry's highest standards of cultivation and processing techniques. They directly dispatch specialists to Guatemala to participate in quality control management. La Minita La Flor is a star product from their portfolio, processed by the renowned local Pastores Mill in Guatemala. Under La Minita's strict supervision, from green bean procurement to washing and sun-drying processes, every procedure follows La Minita's rigorous control standards. They strictly supervise the entire process from cultivation to packaging of La Flor coffee—these meticulous procedures are all designed to ensure that the coffee beans provided by Pastores Mill are of the highest quality.

Coffee Varieties

The batch of FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor coffee beans purchased by FrontStreet Coffee consists of Bourbon and Caturra varieties. Bourbon is a natural mutation of Typica, ranking alongside Typica as an ancient, high-quality variety. The beans are slightly smaller and more rounded than Typica. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, featuring fresh lemon-citrus acidity in flavor, though slightly less sweet than Typica and Bourbon.

Processing Method

The batch of FrontStreet Coffee La Flor coffee beans purchased by FrontStreet Coffee undergoes washed processing. First, the harvested coffee cherries are poured into large water tanks, where underdeveloped inferior beans float to the surface while mature, full fruits sink to the bottom. At this point, the defective beans (fruits) floating on the surface are removed.

Then, a pulp remover is used to eliminate the outer skin and pulp of the coffee fruit, at which point the coffee beans still have a layer of slippery mucilage attached.

The mucilage-coated coffee beans are then placed in fermentation tanks for 16-36 hours, during which microorganisms break down the mucilage. After fermentation is complete, large amounts of clean water are used to wash away any remaining mucilage residue from the coffee beans.

Finally, the cleaned coffee beans are sun-dried until their moisture content drops to 10-14%. Then, a huller is used to remove the parchment, completing the processing.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

The batch of FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala La Flor coffee purchased by FrontStreet Coffee consists of Bourbon and Caturra varieties. Bourbon is a natural mutation of Typica, ranking alongside Typica as an ancient, high-quality variety. The beans are slightly smaller and more rounded than Typica. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, featuring fresh lemon-citrus acidity in flavor, though slightly less sweet than Typica and Bourbon. FrontStreet Coffee's roaster decided to use a medium-light roast for this FrontStreet Coffee La Flor coffee bean.

Preheat the roaster to 200°C and load the beans, with the damper set to 3. After 30 seconds, reduce heat to 160°C while keeping the damper unchanged. The temperature recovery point is at 1'36". Maintain heat, and at 4'50" the bean surface turns yellow with grassy aromas completely disappearing, entering the dehydration phase. Reduce heat to 140°C and adjust the damper to 4.

At 4'50" dehydration is complete, heat is reduced to 140°C. At 8'32" the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black markings, with the toasted bread aroma clearly transitioning to coffee aroma—this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'37" first crack begins, reduce heat to 80°C, open the damper fully to 5 (heat reduction must be very careful—not so low that crackling stops). After first crack, develop for 1'50", then discharge at 195.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Guide

Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature: 90°C
Grind: Medium-fine (77% retention rate on China standard #20 sieve)
Dripper: Hario V60

FrontStreet Coffee's segmented extraction method: First, use 30g of water to thoroughly wet the coffee grounds into a "hamburger" shape for a 30-second bloom (if you don't see a "hamburger" shape, pay attention to whether the coffee beans lack freshness or the grind is too coarse).

Then proceed with the second brewing segment. At 54 seconds on the timer, pour water to reach 125g, then stop and wait for the water level to drop to 2/3 of the coffee bed before starting the third segment (this segment aims to extract the sweet and sour flavor compounds from the coffee grounds). The third segment at 1'40" on the timer pours water to reach 225g, with a total extraction time of 2'10" (this segment aims to extract the rich, mellow flavor compounds from the coffee grounds). After coffee extraction is complete, gently swirl to ensure the coffee liquid is fully mixed and uniform before tasting.

Brewing Flavor Notes

When hot, the entry reveals bright lemon-like acidity. As it gradually cools, a juice-like mouthfeel emerges with subtle white floral aromas appearing and disappearing, followed by cocoa and slight smoky sensations adding layers to this coffee. Finally, caramel-like aftertaste brings this cup of coffee to a perfect conclusion.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473