Flavor Profile and Characteristics of Guatemala Antigua Flora De Jade Coffee Beans - How to Brew Guatemalan Coffee Perfectly

Each coffee-producing region in Guatemala possesses unique flavors, so much so that the president of Maruyama Coffee once said, "If I were only allowed to purchase coffee beans from one country, Guatemala would be my first choice." Why does FrontStreet Coffee continuously explore coffee beans from around the world? Because FrontStreet Coffee believes that only by tasting and comparing more beans can we better understand the flavors of different regions, enabling coffee enthusiasts to gain deeper understanding of their favorite coffees.

Brief History of Guatemala Coffee Beans

In 1750, coffee trees were introduced to Guatemala. By 1845, coffee had become an important economic crop in the region. By the late 19th century, German colonists had developed the local coffee industry. Today, most coffee production takes place in the southern part of the country. The slopes of the Madre volcanic range provide ideal conditions for growing premium coffee beans, where coffee thrives at high altitudes. Compared to other coffee varieties, cuppers prefer this coffee with its spicy flavor notes. The region's strictly hard bean coffee is exceptionally good—full-bodied, delicious, and well-balanced in acidity. Additionally, its giant coffee beans have made Guatemalan coffee particularly noteworthy. The coffee industry once brought prosperity to the country and still holds a dominant position in the national economy today. Unfortunately, domestic political conditions are unfavorable to coffee growers. High yield is typically a sign of overall economic prosperity in a country.

Guatemala's territory features many volcanic mountains and plateau terrains, producing high-quality Central American high-altitude strictly hard beans. Guatemala's main coffee-producing regions include Antigua, Huehuetenango, Atitlan, Coban, Fraijanes, San Marcos, and Acatenango. All Guatemalan coffee beans produced in these regions are Arabica.

Guatemala coffee has always been the economic lifeline of the country, with half of the domestic workforce employed in agriculture. The country's coffee-growing regions boast tropical rainforests, volcanic geology, highland valleys, and proximity to both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, creating over 300 microclimates. This has resulted in unique flavors in different regions. Among them, Antigua and Highland Huehue coffees are the most famous. The coffee grown here, blessed with exceptional climate and terroir, is highly praised for its good fruit acidity and rich, multi-layered flavors. Most Guatemalan coffees are graded by altitude and processed using the washed method.

Antigua Coffee Growing Region Introduction

The Antigua region is said to be the birthplace of Guatemalan coffee. Antigua is situated in a valley surrounded by three volcanoes (Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango), with Volcan Fuego being an active volcano! Its periodic eruptions have enriched the region's soil with abundant minerals. The area also retains extensive primary forests, filling the soil with rich potassium ions. Together, these factors provide coffee plants in the Antigua region with endless nutrients for healthy growth. The climate here is mild year-round with stable humidity (65%), making it one of the most suitable places for growing coffee. Unlike other regions that experience extreme climate changes during the alternating dry and rainy seasons, Antigua allows coffee to grow slowly in valleys above 1,500 meters altitude. Because Antigua is an enclosed valley, it prevents severe soil erosion. All these exceptional environmental conditions enable Antigua to consistently maintain stable, excellent quality.

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Antigua coffee has volcanic soil, and the special soil characteristics give this coffee its distinctive flavor. The smoky notes are extremely alluring and captivating, with richly varied acidity and excellent sweetness. The growing conditions for these coffee beans are exceptional, producing complex and delicate volcanic coffee with mature berry aromas that are intense and rich. The flavor profile shows slight acidity, smooth bitterness combined with fascinating tobacco notes, making the taste even richer and more complex.

Altitude: 1,500~1,700 meters
Annual rainfall: 800~1,200 mm
Average temperature: 18~22°C
Relative humidity: 65%
Harvest season: January to mid-March
Soil: Volcanic pumice
Main drying method: Sun-dried
Shade tree types: Gravilea
Main terrain: Volcanic, valley areas
Coffee profile: Elegant and balanced aroma, with rich fragrance and extremely sweet taste

La Minita Coffee Cultivation

La Minita is famous for its excellent cultivation and processing techniques, as well as extremely strict quality control. They commission Las Pastores, the largest wet processing mill in Antigua, to process their green beans to these standards, naming the coffee "Flor." In addition to preserving the original regional flavors, this FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Flor coffee's dry aroma carries rich floral and tea notes. Upon tasting, lime acidity and berry flavors emerge, transitioning to a honey finish. Excellent cleanliness and rich layering are the characteristics of this Flor coffee.

La Minita does not use pesticides. Due to the geographical advantages of the estate, the climate and altitude naturally limit pest populations, and the few pests present do not significantly impact the coffee trees. As the rainy season comes to an end, coffee cherries begin to ripen. Green fruits start turning red, but coffee cherry maturation is very slow and uneven, unlike the rapid and uniform flowering. Therefore, harvesting must be handled more carefully, collecting only fully ripe deep red cherries.

The fruits from a single tree may require up to 5 separate harvests depending on ripeness. The estate conducts soil tests twice yearly to determine fertilization needs. La Minita estate is very cautious when using products that can increase yield, fertilizing approximately 3 times per year.

Additionally, applying trace elements such as zinc, boron, and copper can provide more nutrients to coffee trees and prevent diseases. Such scientific cultivation management has created the excellent flavor performance of Flor coffee and maintained consistent quality for many years. Following La Minita's famous gatekeeping procedures, the entire process from cultivation to packaging is strictly supervised. These complex procedures ensure that only the best quality is provided by the Pastores processing mill, while strictly controlling the estate's standard operating procedures.

Flor is a brand coffee under La Minita Company, with its growing region located in Antigua, Guatemala. It is a highland surrounded by active volcanoes at 1,850 meters altitude, making it the country's most award-winning and famous coffee-producing region.

Coffee Varieties

The FrontStreet Coffee-purchased batch of Frontsteet Flor coffee consists of Bourbon and Caturra varieties. Bourbon is a natural mutation of Typica, ranking alongside Typica as ancient, high-quality varieties. The beans are slightly smaller and rounder than Typica. Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon, featuring fresh lemon-citrus acidity in flavor, with slightly less sweetness than Typica and Bourbon.

Caturra features lemon or citrus acidity, with sweetness inferior to Typica and Bourbon. This is because Caturra's sweetness depends on the frequency and dosage of fertilization by growers. It has high productivity, but maintaining yield requires continuous fertilization and pruning, resulting in short trees with many branches. Although yield increases, the 2-year harvest period and higher cultivation costs still restrict production volume.

Processing Method

1. This batch of FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Flor is washed processed. First, harvested coffee cherries are poured into large water tanks. Underdeveloped inferior beans float to the surface, while mature, full cherries sink to the bottom. The defective beans (fruits) floating on the surface are then removed.

2. Then, a pulp screener is used to remove the outer skin and pulp from the coffee cherries. At this point, the coffee beans still have a slippery layer of mucilage attached.

3. The coffee beans with mucilage are then placed in fermentation tanks for 16-36 hours. During this process, 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.

4. Finally, the washed coffee beans are sun-dried to reduce moisture content to 10-14%. Then, a huller is used to remove the parchment, completing the processing.

Roasting Analysis

This batch of FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua Flor coffee beans are round in shape, greenish-yellow in color, with relatively good uniformity and medium moisture content. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting target is medium roast—on one hand preserving bright acidity to showcase floral and fruit aromas, while on the other enhancing richness and balance.

In the first batch roasting, the drop temperature was relatively high, with an inlet temperature of 200°C and relatively high heat. During the roasting process, it was discovered that this FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala batch has high altitude and harder beans. To preserve more acidic aromas, a high temperature rise and early first crack roasting approach was adopted. Heat was adjusted down when the beans reached the yellowing point (dehydration complete) and before first crack to avoid surface scorching. The beans were dropped 1 minute 50 seconds after first crack ended, shortening the caramelization reaction time to preserve more floral and fruit aftertaste.

Brewing Parameters

Grind size: 80% passes through #20 sieve
Dripper: V60
Dose: 15g
Water temperature: 90°C
Ratio: 1:15

Brewing Method

Step-by-step extraction: Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour with small circular flow to 125g and segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time is 2 minutes.

Flavor Description

This FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua Flor washed coffee shows prominent citrus acidity with juice-like acidity, rich floral notes, pleasant sweetness, medium body, with slight caramel and smoky notes in the finish. Overall it's clean, gentle, with smooth texture, and the flavor is balanced, lively, and multi-layered.

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