Guatemala Santa Rosa Region | La Loma Washed Pacamara and Catuai Varietals

Guatemala Santa Rosa Region | Finca Guatalon - La Loma Washed Pache, Catuai Variety Flavor Notes?

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The Santa Rosa mountain region of Guatemala belongs to the Jalapa administrative district, not far from the capital Guatemala City, allowing for a day trip. What interests me most about this region is the Guatalon family, which has been cultivated through three generations and has shown continuous and rapid improvement in quality. They have four meticulously cultivated batches! Especially the La Loma lot, which is sometimes sold separately as La Loma Estate. Epicurean customers from欧舍 have extremely fond memories of the 2014 La Loma, with many inquiries about new crop information! Jalapa, near the Santa Rosa mountain region, particularly the road conditions approaching La Loma become very rugged, with terrain featuring valleys dropping 300 meters deep beside the road. However, in good weather, one can see extremely beautiful distant scenery!

The third-generation Anthony met me through the Cup of Excellence competition meetings. He told me about his family's coffee history: "My grandfather Daniel bought La Roma in 1910 and started growing coffee. Initially, he planted Typica and Mundo Novo. Before the 1970s, we would sell the harvested fresh coffee cherries directly to middlemen, with very limited income."

"After my father took over, he decided to build a wet processing mill, expand production capacity, and add Pache and Catuai varieties. He invested a lot of money in equipment and increased production. We decided to switch to selling processed parchment beans," Anthony continued: "But the income from selling parchment beans was still disproportionate to the effort invested. Actually, for so many years, we have been working hard to improve quality. Buyers kept complaining that our quality wasn't good enough. We originally thought that after adding our own equipment and washed processing plant, the quality could improve, but then they raised different issues to refuse paying higher prices." His expression showed no annoyance as he continued: "When middlemen come to negotiate prices, they usually have the final say. I know the international green coffee market prices. Only when green coffee prices are high are they willing to pay a little more, but there's always a gap between what they pay and what I know our quality of green beans deserves. So my father decided to participate in the Cup of Excellence competition. The 2011 competition results were not ideal. My father found consultants who understand specialty coffee to help. In 2012, we entered the semi-finals! We almost made it to the international finals, and then I met you at a coffee farmer conference!" Anthony showed a smile, cherishing the way we met.

La Loma Estate is situated at approximately 1,650 to 1,700 meters above sea level. The estate consists mostly of steep mountain slopes, making work very difficult for the laborers. Before arriving at the estate, I introduced the concept of the Pearl Harvesting Plan. The essence of the Pearl Harvesting Plan is: to select premium estates and only harvest ripe fruits with sugar content above 20!

Cupping Notes

Delicate, excellent body, noticeable sweetness, honey, hazelnut chocolate, berries, lime, pleasant mouthfeel, smooth with sweet juice notes that are quite persistent. Honey, chocolate, berries, floral notes.

Coffee Information

Country: Guatemala

Region: Jalapa

Estate Name: Finca Guatalon - La Loma lot

Altitude: 1,650-1,750 meters

Varieties: Pache, Catuai

Processing Method: Traditional washed method

Cupping Profile:

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal R-440 grind setting 3.5

Brewing Method: 1:15 water-to-coffee ratio, 15g coffee grounds. First infusion with 25g water, steam for 25 seconds. Second infusion to 120g, then stop water flow. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue slow infusion until reaching 225g total water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using three-stage brewing to clearly distinguish the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the water flow can extend the extraction time. La Paz

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