Guatemala Palencia Region - El Socorro Estate Maracaturra Flavors and COE Awards

Guatemala Palencia Region - Finca El Socorro's Maracaturra Flavor and COE Awards

Finca El Socorro's owner, Diego De La Cerda, nicknamed "Silver Fox," claims to produce the best coffee in the world, and his award record is impressively long: two Cup of Excellence championships and one COTY award. Had Finca El Injerto not taken the title in 2012, he would have secured a third Cup of Excellence crown.

Diego De La Cerda runs two farms in Guatemala, El Socorro and Guayaba. El Socorro is located in Palencia, Guatemala Province, 50 kilometers from Guatemala City. Coffee growing began there in 1980 under the owner Juan de la Cerda Colom, and today he and his son Juan Diego oversee production, representing the family's fourth generation. El Socorro's pursuit of quality shows in every detail, from cultivation and harvesting to post-processing.

Both of El Socorro's Guatemala Cup of Excellence championship-winning lots were Maracaturra, a hybrid of Caturra and Maragogype. The beans are nearly as large as Maragogype, with a flavor as special and outstanding as Geisha or Pacamara. In recent years El Socorro has expanded its planted area and begun growing other varieties, including Pacamara. Alongside these two large-bean varieties, the farm also cultivates Bourbon, Caturra, and Typica.

What allows the farm to produce such high-quality coffee, however, is not a special variety but meticulous attention to cultivation and processing. Most high-altitude farms use readily available natural mountain spring water for washed processing, but fresh cherries processed in cold spring water inevitably ferment for longer. El Socorro's growing area sits at roughly 1,700 meters, with the washing station at 1,400 meters. To address this, the farm processes the beans with heated water, shortening fermentation time (36 to 40 hours) and preserving stronger fruit and floral aromas. This is a technique unique to El Socorro. During drying, even a little rain can ruin the whole batch, so the parchment coffee is covered at night. Drying takes approximately 12-16 days.

The farm holds Rainforest Alliance certification and places great emphasis on ecological protection. Its total area is 700 hectares, the majority (55%) of it a natural conservation zone, the largest protected area nearby, which attracts many wild animals and migratory birds. Pines and oaks are the most numerous trees there, and the wildlife and birds have been carefully surveyed and recorded. Only 25% of the farm (approximately 126 hectares) is used for coffee, while another 40% supports other activities, including corn, vegetables, and dairy cattle.

El Socorro enters the Cup of Excellence almost every year, regardless of ranking, and its most prized variety is Maracaturra. Not only does the farm win often, it also scores impressively: in 2007 it took first place with 93.6 points, in 2011 its championship score was 91.53, and in 2013, despite finishing third, it still scored 90.19. El Socorro's coffee typically shows dense florals, sweet-tart lemon and citrus, vibrant acidity, and a long-lasting aftertaste.

Farm Information

Region: Palencia
Farm: Finca El Socorro y Anexos
Owner: Diego De La Cerda
Area: 700 hectares; coffee cultivation area: 126 hectares
Variety: Maracaturra
Altitude: 1,400-1,950 meters
Average Temperature: 22°C
Annual Rainfall: 1,500mm
Relative Humidity: 70%
Processing Method: Washed, sun-dried
Harvest Period: January to April
Flavor Profile: Blueberry, jasmine, milk chocolate

Brewing Recommendations

Filter: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 88-89°C
Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4
Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15g of coffee. First pour 25g of water for a 25-second bloom. Second pour to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level drops halfway before continuing the pour, slowly reaching 225g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: A three-stage brew clearly distinguishes the front, middle, and back-end flavors. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing the pour helps extend the extraction time, allowing the nutty and chocolate notes in the finish to come through.

Flavor: Multi-layered and overall clean with a relatively light body, a persistent caramel sweetness in the aftertaste, and a hint of bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Maracaturra belongs to the same family of oversized beans as Maragogype, Pacamara, and Geisha, and it delivers a similarly distinctive cup. If the floral, sweet-tart character of El Socorro's Maracaturra is what you enjoy, FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Boquete Geisha is a great place to explore that large-bean elegance: it comes from Panama's most representative specialty region, is washed processed, and clearly shows Geisha's signature orange-blossom honey, with a layered, delicate fruit acidity and oolong-tea character, all at an accessible price.

For a higher-tier comparison, FrontStreet Coffee's Esmeralda Estate Red Label ("Esmeralda Special") is grown at 1,600-1,800 meters, with every lot cup-scoring above 90 and carrying its own single-plot lot number, while the Green Label ("Private Collection") blends several plots into a more affordable expression of the estate's high-altitude Geisha profile. Both make an excellent pour-over and reward the comparison with a large-bean, floral-forward Guatemalan lot like this one.