Introduction to Guatemala Atitlan Region Shiroro Coffee - How to Drink Guatemala Coffee?

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San Pedro La Laguna coffee comes from the hillsides surrounding Lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, ringed by three volcanoes. Because of its proximity to these volcanoes, the soil is rich in volcanic ash. The Lake Atitlan region has a highly unusual microclimate: extremely hot, dry days turn humid and cold at night. The coffee is cultivated by local smallholder farmers who have long-term cooperation with the mills, delivering their harvest to centralized processing plants for the subsequent steps. This centralized management model allows strict monitoring of coffee quality, resulting in consistently high-quality Guatemalan coffee.

Coffee Details

Region: Lake Atitlan

Varieties: Typica, Caturra, Catuai

Processing Method: Washed

Soil: Volcanic ash

Altitude: 1,500-1,900 meters

Flavor Profile: Deep red plum aroma, sweet sweet-potato notes, a lemon-tea sensation, and a rich milk chocolate finish

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests the following brewing parameters:

Pour-over: V60 dripper, Fuji R440 grinder setting 3.5, water temperature around 90°C

French Press: Grinder setting 4 recommended, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Grinder setting 4 recommended, water temperature 90°C-91°C

AeroPress: Grinder setting 3.5 recommended, water temperature 90°C

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you are looking for an easy-to-use brewer, the French press is hard to beat - making coffee with it is as simple as steeping tea: add grounds, pour in hot water, stir, press the plunger down, and pour. The catch with simple tools is that overlooked details can ruin the cup, so a few techniques are worth mastering first. The French press is a full-immersion brewer with a metal mesh filter, which means the water and grounds steep together directly and the finished coffee retains richer oils and a heavier, fuller body. If you dislike sediment or fine particles in your cup, though, it may not be for you.

Because the French press is an immersion method with a long contact time, lightly roasted beans will come out noticeably more acidic, drowning out their own floral and fruity delicacy. Medium or dark roasts suit it better, expressing sweetness and caramelized flavors. If you prefer a fragrant, aromatic cup, try FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy - a Geisha blend combining Costa Rican honey-process coffee with Panamanian washed Geisha, capturing the best of Central America. Steeped in a French press it releases rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry aromas, and with milk it smells like strawberry gummies. For a low-acid, oil-rich black coffee, the first choice is FrontStreet's PWN Golden Mandheling SOE - one of Asia's most famous specialty coffees, sorted three times by hand plus once by machine, with even, translucent beans. Medium-dark roasted, it shows rich spice, caramel, cedar, and dark chocolate, and brews a mellow French press cup with plenty of body and a good layer of oils.

For grind size, FrontStreet recommends a coarse granulated-sugar setting - around 10.5 on an EK43s, or click 26 on a hand grinder - like tiny gravel rather than fine sand. Too fine, and fine particles will slip through the metal mesh and leave a muddy sediment at the bottom of your cup; if you do want a finer grind for more layered flavor, shorten the steep time accordingly to avoid over-extraction. Use a 1:15 ratio (15g of coffee to 225g of water), which yields a strength of about 1.1-1.2% - a fuller, rounder cup - and adjust from there to taste. For water, boil and let it rest 2-3 minutes to reach about 90°C; since there is no agitation during immersion, running 1-2°C above your usual pour-over temperature helps compensate. As for time, 3-5 minutes is the usual range: 5 minutes can turn dark roasts bitter and astringent, while 3 minutes may leave light roasts underdeveloped, so start at 4 minutes. Simply add the grounds, pour in 15 times their weight in hot water, stir gently, rest the plunger on top without pressing, wait 4 minutes, then press slowly to the bottom and pour carefully without disturbing the bed.