Quiché Department, Guatemala | Little Horse Oscar Family | Little Horse Farm

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FrontStreet Coffee Panama Coffee Bean Recommendations | Guatemala Huehuetenango Tierra Linda | Guatemala Bolsa Pacamara

For the past century, coffee has been central to Guatemala's economy. There are currently about 125,000 coffee producers in the country, and coffee is the main export commodity, accounting for 40% of exported agricultural products. Up to 20 of Guatemala's 22 provinces grow coffee, so beans come from almost every region. 98% of the coffee is shade-grown, and it is almost exclusively Arabica. The main sub-varieties include Bourbon, Tipica, Caturra, Catuaí, Pache, and Pacamara. Guatemala's high altitudes, 300 different microclimates, stable rainfall, and fertile, mineral-rich soil add up to ideal growing conditions — the most favorable among Central American countries.

Since the early 1990s, Anacafé has classified eight different producing regions for high-grown hard bean (SHB) coffee based on coffee characteristics, growing climate, soil quality, and altitude: the Acatenango valley, Antigua, Atitlán, the Cobán rainforest, the Fraijanes plateau, Huehuetenango, Nuevo Oriente, and the San Marcos volcanic region. The main harvest runs from December to March of the following year, with higher-altitude regions like Huehuetenango extending to April. Once harvesting and processing are complete, the beans are shipped.

While the Sleeping Beauty Estate (Finca La Perla) gradually awakens, Finca Los Caballitos (Little Horse Farm), in the same green Ixil Triangle highlands of western Guatemala (Ixil is the common Mayan language in the area), has made its debut. Little Horse Farm sits on fertile black soil surrounded by three lagoons, with abundant water and beautiful mountain scenery. The Oscar family bought the land and started from scratch. This batch is their first suitable harvest, which makes it very new to the market. The cherries are hand-picked when fully ripe and processed right on the farm, where the pulp and skin are promptly removed, followed by thorough soaking and fermentation and then drying in sunlit courtyards. This closely resembles honey processing, or the technique used by La Esmeralda Estate.

Property Characteristics

Farm Name: Finca Los Caballitos (Little Horse Farm)

Farmer: Oscar and Christian Schaps (The Oscar Family)

City: Chajúl

Region: El Quiché Province

Country: Guatemala

Altitude: 1,500 meters

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Bourbon, Caturra

Processing System: Fully washed and dried on patio

Aroma/Flavor: Almond, violet, lavender, floral sweetness, milk caramel sweetness, caramel, toffee

Acidity: Malic acid, citric acid, pomelo

Complexity & Other: A clean, bright style; acidity with body; a honey-caramel sweet aftertaste; a perfect combination of sweetness and aroma

Cupping Scores

Dry Aroma: 9

Wet Aroma: 8

Clean: 9

Sweetness: 9

Acidity: 9

Body/Mouthfeel: 9

Flavor: 8

Aftertaste: 8

Balance: 9

Overall: 9

Cupping Score: 87

Overall Notes: A clean style, acidity with body, and a smooth honey-caramel finish

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the clean, washed, caramel-sweet profile of this Guatemalan lot, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Gesha is a natural next step. It is grown at 1,600 meters on the volcanic ash soil of the Baru Volcano area and brews into a cup full of jasmine, green tea, honey, and orange — the classic Boquete character, bright yet gentle. The Panama Butterfly, made from Gesha, Caturra, and Catuai in the same region, adds a firmer body and tangerine-like acidity that holds up well in both pour-over and cold brew.

For a fruitier, more accessible cup from the same estate family, the Emerald Estate Diamond Mountain is built mainly on Caturra and Catuai from the Jaramillo and Canas Verdes farms, and its volcanic-soil origin gives it rich fruit aroma and sweetness. If you want the most refined expression, the Emerald Estate Red Label Gesha, harvested from a single plot above 1,700 meters and cupped above 91 points, delivers that precise tangerine-and-honey elegance in full.