Guatemala Coffee Bean Pour-Over Parameters Recommendation Is Guatemala Coffee Sour

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Recently, many coffee enthusiasts have become fascinated by the flavors of Guatemala coffee beans. Consequently, some have been researching how to brew Guatemala coffee at home, but often struggle to extract its distinctive flavors or find Guatemala coffee beans too acidic. So, are Guatemala coffee beans actually acidic? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the pour-over parameters and flavor characteristics of our Guatemala coffee beans.

First, FrontStreet Coffee will explain how Guatemala coffee bean flavors are formed and what characteristics they possess. As everyone knows, coffee beans are agricultural products, and their flavors are naturally influenced by the topography and climate of their growing regions. Additionally, coffee bean varieties and processing methods also affect flavor development. The most distinctive characteristic of Guatemala coffee beans is a subtle smoky flavor, which is primarily related to its topography. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will focus on these three aspects to explain the flavor characteristics of our Guatemala coffee beans.

Guatemala Coffee Bean Growing Conditions

According to FrontStreet Coffee, Guatemala is located in the Central American isthmus. The country features many volcanic mountains and highland terrains, producing high-quality, high-altitude, strictly hard beans from the Central American region. Guatemala's main coffee-producing regions include Antigua, Huehuetenango, Atitlan, Coban, Fraijanes, San Marcos, and Acatenango. All Guatemala coffee beans produced are Arabica varieties. Among these, the most famous regions are Antigua and Huehuetenango.

Antigua

According to FrontStreet Coffee, the Antigua region is located in the mountainous area that crosses Guatemala, primarily in the Madre highlands. Due to its natural conditions, Antigua has become the most famous among Guatemala's eight major coffee-producing regions. Surrounded by active volcanoes at an altitude of 1,850 meters, it is the country's most award-winning and renowned region.

FrontStreet Coffee understands that Antigua experiences low rainfall in summer and occasional frost in winter due to extreme cold, conditions that are actually not ideal for coffee tree growth. Fortunately, the region is located in an active volcanic zone. When volcanic pumice falls into the soil after eruptions and cools, its numerous pores retain moisture effectively. Combined with extensive shade tree planting in the estates, coffee trees are protected from cold damage in winter. These factors that overcome adverse conditions, along with significant day-night temperature variations, create Antigua's unique microclimate, giving its coffee beans a subtle smoky flavor and rich fruit notes. Flavor: Balanced acidity and sweetness.

Huehuetenango

This region has the highest average altitude in Guatemala and belongs to the country's volcanic coffee-producing areas. However, this area is remote and has rugged terrain far from the capital. Fortunately, dry, hot winds from Mexico blow into this region, allowing the Huehuetenango highlands to cultivate coffee fruits at 2,000 meters above sea level.

Guatemala Coffee Varieties

According to FrontStreet Coffee, Guatemala primarily grows single-origin coffee beans of Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuai varieties.

Bourbon

Bourbon coffee was initially cultivated on Réunion Island, which was called Bourbon Island before 1789. Bourbon coffee originates from a natural mutation of the Typica variety, which itself is derived from Arabica. It is one of the oldest existing coffee varieties.

Typical Bourbon coffee beans transform from green fruits to mature bright red fruits, which is what we know as "Red Bourbon." The fruits are relatively small and round, also called round-bodied Bourbon. The pulp and seeds have high density, with high sweetness and bright acidity. However, besides Red Bourbon, there are also Yellow Bourbon, as well as the rare Orange Bourbon and the even rarer Pink Bourbon. Red Bourbon.

Caturra

Caturra is a single-gene mutation of Bourbon, discovered in Brazil in 1937. It has better production capacity and disease resistance than Bourbon, with shorter plant height that facilitates harvesting. Unfortunately, like Bourbon, it suffers from biennial production cycles. However, its flavor is comparable to or slightly inferior to Bourbon beans. More importantly, it has extremely strong adaptability and can thrive without shade trees, growing vigorously under direct sunlight. Commonly known as sun coffee, it can adapt to high-density planting but requires more fertilization, increasing costs. Consequently, initial acceptance by coffee farmers was not high.

Catuai

Catuai is an Arabica hybrid variety, a cross between Mundo Novo (New World) and Caturra. It has better resistance to natural disasters, particularly wind and rain. It inherits the advantage of Caturra's short plant height, overcoming Mundo Novo's weakness. Another advantage is its firm fruit that doesn't easily fall off in strong winds, addressing Arabica's fragility weakness. However, its overall flavor profile is more monotonous than Caturra and lacks the body and richness of Mundo Novo, which is its greatest drawback. Additionally, its fruit production lifespan is only about ten years, making its short lifespan another weakness.

Guatemala Coffee Processing Methods

According to FrontStreet Coffee, most Guatemala coffee fruits are processed using the washed method, with only a small percentage using the natural method.

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned in previous articles, the washed processing method is the best way to showcase a coffee bean's most original flavors and is the starting point for understanding a region's flavor profile. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's daily blend beans are primarily washed processed. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Huehuetenango blend beans use the washed processing method. Meanwhile, the natural processing method adds aroma and fermentation notes to the base regional flavors.

The above are the three major factors compiled by FrontStreet Coffee that influence Guatemala coffee bean flavors. FrontStreet Coffee currently offers Guatemala Antigua coffee beans and Guatemala Huehuetenango coffee beans. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce these two Guatemala coffee beans and share pour-over parameters to determine whether Guatemala coffee beans are actually acidic.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua Flora Coffee Beans

Country: Guatemala
Region: Antigua (La Minita Estate)
Altitude: 1,200-1,600m
Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Citrus acidity, bright fruit acidity, caramel aroma, slight smoky sensation.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Huehuetenango Coffee Beans

Country: Guatemala
Region: Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1,500-2,000 meters
Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Nuts, lemon peel, berries, citrus

Since both of these FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala coffee beans are medium-roasted, FrontStreet Coffee uses the same brewing parameters to compare the flavors extracted from these two coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Data Sharing

Filter: V60 #01
Water Temperature: 90-91°C
Dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: BG6m/medium-fine grind (80% through #20 sieve)

Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction

First stage: Pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g (scale shows around 125g), completing the pour in about 1 minute. When the water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (scale shows around 225g), completing the pour in about 1 minute 35 seconds. Complete drip filtration between 2'00"-2'10", remove the filter, and complete extraction.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Huehuetenango flavor description: Citrus and berry acidity, lemon peel, nutty aromas in the middle section, tea-like finish.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Flora flavor description: Citrus acidity is quite prominent, juice-like acidity, rich floral notes, pleasant sweetness, medium body, with slight caramel and smoky notes in the finish. Overall clean, gentle, with smooth texture and balanced, lively, and complex layers.

Are Guatemala Coffee Beans Acidic?

As can be seen from the above, both coffee beans share the same varieties and processing methods, but due to different altitudes and regions, they present different flavors. After all, coffee beans are agricultural products, and their flavors vary with regional geography, soil, and microclimate, which is one of the charms of coffee beans.

Both of these coffee beans indeed have noticeable acidity, so it's normal for coffee enthusiasts brewing at home using FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over parameters to extract coffee with acidic notes. This is because Guatemala coffee beans are grown at relatively high altitudes, and one characteristic of high-altitude coffee beans is that the higher the altitude, the more pronounced the acidity. This is also one of the characteristics of Arabica coffee beans.

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