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As a world-renowned coffee-producing country, its ability to produce such high-quality coffee benefits from superior natural conditions. Of course, subsequent artificial cultivation is also very important - neither aspect alone can achieve world-famous specialty coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the quality of Guatemalan coffee is inseparable from the hard work of coffee farmers, and those world-renowned estates have invested even more effort.

Huehuetenango: Guatemala's Premier Coffee Region

Huehuetenango is located on the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Its towering mountains and pristine rainforest environment make it an ideal location for coffee cultivation. Many Cup of Excellence winning estates are concentrated here, such as the perennial COE champion Injerto Estate, which can be described as a champion breeding ground.

Guatemala has eight main producing regions, but none more special than Huehuetenango. Unlike regions such as Antigua, Atitlán, and San Marcos, which have volcanic soil formed from weathered volcanic ash or lava flows, Huehuetenango is primarily limestone soil, which is rare among coffee-producing regions worldwide. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that the highest altitude coffee farms in this area can reach up to 2,000 meters, standing out compared to other high-altitude coffee farms in Central America that rarely exceed 1,800 meters due to frost risk.

For many years among Guatemala's various producing regions, Huehuetenango has been a quite well-known and popular coffee-producing area. Coffee grows at altitudes generally above 1,500 meters, and the coffee typically exhibits rich body and abundant fruit acidity. Due to the remote location of the Huehuetenango region, most coffee farmers are smallholders. The region's towering mountains with altitudes between 1,400-1,800m create significant day-night temperature differences, providing this area's coffee with unique growth conditions and rich microclimate environments. Additionally, the mountains are dotted with clean and abundant river water sources that farmers use for water processing.

Finca Miralvalle: The Miracle Estate

Estate founder Benjamin "Mincho" Villatoro began focusing on producing special, exquisite coffee in 1970, establishing Finca Miralvalle (Miracle Estate) in the mountains of Huehuetenango. The estate covers 30 hectares, with altitudes ranging from 1,500 to 1,900 meters, annual rainfall of 1,800 millimeters, and mixed cultivation of Bourbon and Caturra varieties.

Founder Benjamin passed away in 2013, and current estate owner Jorge Villatoro inherited Benjamin's legacy, continuing to strive for the flavor and quality of specialty coffee. Since 2014, Miracle Estate has won "Excellence" awards for three consecutive years in the Huehuetenango Highland Coffee Competition, proving that Miracle Estate coffee best represents the flavor of Huehuetenango. Meanwhile, Miracle Estate has been listed in Guatemala's Cup of Excellence (C.O.E.) for four consecutive years.

In 2016, C.O.E. ranking: 10th place in all of Guatemala.

Cultivation History

Growing Altitude

Guatemalan coffee grows in the high-altitude cloud belt with significant day-night temperature differences. Such climatic conditions prevent coffee from growing too quickly (because excessive growth speed makes coffee beans softer and more flavorless), combined with fertile volcanic soil, making Guatemalan coffee growing conditions the most ideal among Central American countries. Unlike coffee beans from other Central American countries that have cleaner and fresher flavors, Guatemalan coffee shows more style variations due to different producing area altitudes. With the capital Antigua and the northwestern Huehuetenango highlands as the two major producing regions, these two regions dominate people's impression of Guatemalan coffee. Antigua coffee has better richness and subtle smoky flavors, while Huehuetenango highlands are characterized by delicate citrus acidity.

The Chinese translation of the place name "Huehuetenango Highlands" has great character. Located in northwestern Guatemala, the highlands have fertile soil and abundant rainfall. The cloud belt created by the unique valley terrain of the highlands is the best coffee-growing environment bestowed by heaven. Therefore, the Huehuetenango Highlands are world-famous for producing exceptional quality coffee. Most of the winning coffee beans in Guatemala's annual coffee competitions come from the Huehuetenango Highlands, receiving excellent international acclaim.

Cultivation Varieties

For the past century, coffee has saved Guatemala's economy. It is estimated that there are currently about 125,000 producers locally, making it the main export item, accounting for 40% of exported agricultural products. Among 22 provinces, as many as 20 are engaged in coffee cultivation. Almost all regions grow coffee beans, with 98% under tree shade, almost exclusively Arabica beans. Main sub-varieties include Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Pache, and Pacamara.

Processing Methods

Washed Processing: Remove pulp and mucilage → Sun dry

Steps are as follows:

1. After farmers harvest the fruits, they place them in water tanks to remove debris and unripe beans;

2. Place coffee fruits in a depulping machine to remove the pulp and skin, obtaining depulped raw beans;

3. Place the depulped raw beans in fermentation tanks to decompose the mucilage remaining on the parchment, obtaining raw beans with residual mucilage;

4. Place the raw beans with residual mucilage in washing pools to remove the mucilage, obtaining raw beans with parchment;

5. Place the raw beans with parchment in sun-drying fields or dryers for sun-drying treatment;

6. Finally, use a hulling machine to remove the parchment from the dried raw beans.

Green Bean Analysis

Guatemala Finca Miralvalle Maracaturra

Varieties: Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, featuring wonderful sweetness, balance, and complex, varied flavors, as well as significant nutty and dark chocolate characteristics.

Roasting Analysis

This coffee has medium-sized beans, medium density, and naturally high moisture content. The roasting target is medium roast. This Guatemalan coffee uses medium roast to reduce the intensity of acidity, which can enhance texture and balance, making the overall performance sweeter, with more chocolate and nutty notes.

In the first batch of roasting, the dropping temperature was relatively high, with an entering temperature of 200°C and relatively high heat. During the roasting process, it was found that this batch of beans had high moisture content, so a roasting method of gradually reducing heat, steady temperature rise, and extended dehydration time was adopted. The heat was adjusted finer when the beans entered the yellowing point, completed dehydration, and showed first crack signs, avoiding bean surface scorching and slightly extending the first crack time to increase caramelization reaction time, enhancing flavor texture and balance.

Roasting machine: Yangjia 600g semi-direct heat

Heat to 200°C to enter the drum, damper set to 3, after 30s adjust heat to 160°C, damper unchanged, temperature return point at 1'37", maintain heat, at 5'30" the bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, entering dehydration stage, heat reduced to 140°C, damper adjusted to 4;

Dehydration completed only at 8'00", heat reduced to 100, at 9'45" ugly wrinkles and black markings appear on bean surface, toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack, starting first crack at 9'55", adjust heat to 70, damper fully open to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not so small that there's no cracking sound), develop for 2'10" after first crack, drop at 194.5°C.

This Guatemala Finca Miralvalle coffee has relatively balanced texture, with obvious yet soft sweet and sour notes, carrying rich chocolate and nutty flavors, noticeable tea-like quality, slight smoky flavor in the aftertaste, soft fruit acidity, high body, and high cleanliness.

V60 dripper, 15g powder, water temperature 92°C, BG grind 6L, water-to-coffee ratio 1:15

40g water for bloom, bloom time 30s

Segments: Pour water to 130g, pause, then slowly pour water to 225g

That is: 30-130-225g

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473