Introduction to Guatemala Cobán Coffee Region - Guatemala Coffee Flavor Characteristics

The Cobán region lies 220 kilometers outside Guatemala City in the Verapaz department, with an average temperature of 15°C-20°C. The region is renowned for its pristine natural environment and diverse climate. Coffee in Cobán is cultivated on gently rolling hills that coexist harmoniously with the surrounding rainforest and natural tree cover. The area is characterized by year-round cloud cover, abundant rainfall, and a cool climate. It has essentially two seasons, the rainy season and the very rainy season. Further influenced by the tropical climate of the Atlantic basin, the cultivation soil consists mainly of limestone and clay.

Its coffee flavor is distinctly different from other producing regions. Besides a bright, delicate acidity, it also carries a subtle wine-like aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Parameters:

Pour-over: V60 dripper, grind at 3.5 on the Fuji R440 grinder, water temperature around 90°C

French Press: Recommended grind level of 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Recommended grind level of 4, water temperature between 90°C-91°C

AeroPress: Recommended grind level of 3.5, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Because the French press is a full-immersion brewer, it tends to suit medium or darker roasts, which express sweetness and caramel notes better than a light roast would. If you like a fragrant, delicate cup, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy is a good match: this Geisha blend is built from a honey-processed coffee from Costa Rica and a washed Geisha from Panama, combining the finest flavor characteristics of Central American coffee. Steeped in a French press it releases aromas of rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry, and with milk it takes on a strawberry gummy sweetness.

If you are after a low-acid black coffee with a full, oily body, the FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling is the first choice. One of Asia's best-known specialty coffees, it is sorted three times by hand plus once by machine, so the beans are even and translucent. After medium-dark roasting the beans are large and carry rich spice, caramel, cedar, and dark chocolate aromas, and a French press extraction yields a full-bodied cup with a good layer of oil.

For the brewer, FrontStreet recommends a coarse-sugar grind, roughly 10.5 on an EK43s electric grinder or 26 on a hand grinder, more like small gravel than fine sand. Use a 1:15 ratio (15g of coffee to 225g of water), which lands the brew at around 1.1-1.2% concentration. Water should be about 90°C; if you have no thermometer, let boiled water rest 2-3 minutes. Since the French press has no stirring to raise extraction, use a temperature about 1-2°C higher than you would for pour-over, and steep for about 4 minutes before pressing slowly to the bottom and pouring the coffee off carefully.