Guatemala Coffee Flavor Characteristics: An Introduction to Guatemala's Coffee Regions, Varieties, and Grades

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In Latin America's coffee-growing regions, Guatemala's coffee beans are renowned for their bright fruit acidity and smoky notes. With a smooth mouthfeel and highly distinctive flavors, Guatemalan coffee beans are often called "cigarette coffee." In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explore the regional flavor characteristics of Guatemalan coffee beans.

Guatemala Coffee Cultivation History

According to FrontStreet Coffee's research, as early as 1747, local Guatemalan farmers already knew how to cultivate and drink coffee. By 1750, Jesuit priests introduced coffee trees to Guatemala. In 1845, with the establishment of the Guatemalan Coffee Cultivation and Promotion Committee, coffee became an important economic crop for Guatemala. With strong government promotion, by 1880, coffee accounted for 90% of Guatemala's total exports. To achieve higher yields, those in power targeted indigenous people's lands, forcing them to sell their land and move to more barren areas.

Therefore, even today, most of Guatemala's coffee production occurs in the southern regions. According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, Guatemala currently has eight major coffee-producing regions, each with different flavor profiles. Generally speaking, Guatemalan coffee exhibits a mild and rich overall texture, with elegant aromas and a special, pleasant acidity similar to fruit acids, making it truly the aristocrat of coffees. For example, the Guatemala Antigua Flora coffee beans at FrontStreet Coffee are very popular among coffee enthusiasts.

Guatemalan Coffee Growing Regions

As mentioned above by FrontStreet Coffee, Guatemala has eight coffee-growing regions, and each region's flavor is influenced by its geographical distribution. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will briefly describe the characteristics of these eight regions.

Antigua

The former capital and ancient city, close to the capital, is the most famous among all Guatemalan coffee-growing regions. Consequently, it commands premium prices, and there are many counterfeit Antigua coffee beans in the specialty coffee market today. The highest-priced variety is the Bourbon coffee fruits grown in the most characteristic volcanic soil of Antigua.

Flavor: Balanced sweet and sour

Altitude: 1500-1700m

Acatenango Valley

Guatemala's eighth coffee-growing region was originally a supply area for Antigua. Located adjacent to Antigua, the valley has magnificent scenery, with coffee cultivation along volcanic valleys. The valley retains warm, humid air, combined with significant day-night temperature differences, making it extremely suitable for growing coffee fruits.

Flavor: Excellent sweetness, delicate fruit acidity, with flavors and aromas widely loved by coffee enthusiasts

Altitude: 1300-2900m

Rainforest Coban

This region receives very high rainfall, with perennial cloud cover and a cool climate. The soil contains limestone and clay. Post-harvest processing often affects the quality of coffee from this region, but when processed well, the flavors are full and captivating.

Flavor: Good mouthfeel with chocolate and tropical fruit flavors

Altitude: 1300-1500m

Volcanic San Marco

The quality of coffee from this area varies greatly. With abundant rainfall, coffee fruits flower intensively when it rains, making sun-drying after harvest dependent on luck, leading to inconsistent coffee quality in this region.

Flavor: Distinct acidity and sweetness, with properly processed coffee fruits having full and unique aromas

Altitude: 1400-1800m

Traditional Atitlan

The soil around Lake Atitlan is very fertile, with the highest altitude coffee grown at 1950 meters. Most areas extend from slopes to the shores of Lake Atitlan, where the altitude remains around 1500m. This is also Guatemala's largest and most famous high-altitude lake region.

Flavor: Rich aroma and viscous texture

Altitude: 1500-1750m

Highland Huehue

This region has the highest average altitude in Guatemala and belongs to the volcanic coffee-producing areas. However, the routes to the capital from this area are rugged and remote. Fortunately, dry hot winds from Mexico blow here, allowing Highland Huehue to grow coffee fruits at 2000m.

Flavor: Bright and delicate acidity, with floral notes and diverse flavors

Altitude: 1500-2000m

Fraijanes Plateau

This region belongs to volcanic coffee-producing areas with high altitude. The soil contains rich pumice that can even be ignited. Its coffee flavor is balanced but has more unique aromatic qualities than Antigua. FrontStreet Coffee believes this is probably due to the region's soil characteristics and variable humidity and temperature, making its coffee flavors stand out.

Flavor: Unique aroma, balanced flavor, mild acidity, rich mouthfeel

Altitude: 1400-1800m

New Oriente

This region is near neighboring Honduras, with a climate similar to Coban but some areas being hotter. New Oriente is a volcanic region, but its flavors differ significantly from other volcanic regions.

Flavor: Prominent aroma, with chocolate and spice notes

Altitude: 1200-1700m

Guatemala Coffee Growing Conditions

Guatemala borders Mexico to the north, Honduras and El Salvador to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. With its unique geography surrounded by mountains and seas, Guatemala boasts tropical rainforests, volcanic geology, highland valleys, and varied microclimates, making it extremely suitable for growing Arabica coffee beans.

The northern and eastern coastal plains of Guatemala have a tropical rainforest climate, while the southern mountains have a subtropical climate. The year is divided into dry and wet seasons, with May to October being the wet season and November to April of the following year being the dry season. The narrow, fertile plains along Guatemala's Pacific coast have a tropical climate. The central highlands are also Guatemala's cultural center. According to FrontStreet Coffee, at altitudes of 1300-1800 meters, the temperature remains mild year-round, with daily temperatures between 18-28°C. At higher elevations, January and February tend to be colder.

The northeastern region receives 2000-3000mm of annual rainfall, while the south receives 500-1000mm. Guatemala has a high average altitude, with coffee growing zones distributed above 1500 meters, between 14-16 degrees north latitude, making it ideal for growing extremely hard beans. All are wet-processed, with 45% of coffee beans classified as specialty grade - a remarkably high proportion. There are also small amounts of Robusta coffee beans.

Guatemalan Coffee Bean Grading

As mentioned earlier by FrontStreet Coffee, due to the high altitude of Guatemala's coffee-growing regions and suitable temperatures for growing extremely hard beans, Guatemalan coffee grading is based on bean hardness and altitude. This is because the higher the coffee grows, the higher the fruit density, resulting in more unique flavors. Below are Guatemalan coffee bean grading standards (ranked from highest to lowest quality):

SHB (Strictly Hard Bean): Grown at 1500-1700 meters altitude

HB (Hard Bean): Grown at 1350-1500 meters altitude

SH (Semi Hard Bean): Grown at 1200-1350 meters altitude

Extra Prime: Grown at 1000-1200 meters altitude

Prime: Grown at 850-1000 meters altitude

Good Washed: Grown at 700-850 meters altitude

Guatemala Coffee Processing Methods

According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, most Guatemalan coffee fruits are processed using the washed processing method, with only a small amount using the natural processing method.

FrontStreet Coffee has previously mentioned that the washed processing method best showcases the original flavors of coffee beans and is the starting point for understanding regional flavor profiles. Therefore, the daily coffee beans launched by FrontStreet Coffee are primarily washed-processed, such as FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemalan Huehuetenango daily beans, which use the washed processing method. The natural processing method, on the other hand, adds aroma and fermentation notes to the base regional flavors.

Washed Processing Process

1. Harvesting. After harvesting ripe coffee fruits, initial screening removes impurities, defective beans, and floaters. This stage is identical to the natural method.

2. Pulping. Fresh fruits are sent to a pulping machine to remove the skin and pulp. Unripe fruits, whose pulp doesn't separate easily, are screened out at this stage. After pulping, what remains are mucilage, parchment, and seeds.

3. Fermentation to remove mucilage. The pulped seeds with mucilage are transferred to fermentation tanks. Although called "washed," this method doesn't actually wash away the mucilage but removes it through biological decomposition during fermentation. The fermentation process takes about 16-36 hours, during which frequent stirring is needed to accelerate mucilage separation from the seeds. Washed fermentation produces acidic substances like citric acid, malic acid, and acetic acid. These acids penetrate the raw beans, making washed beans more acidic than naturally processed ones. After fermentation is complete, actual washing occurs - the beans are washed again.

4. Drying. After washing, the beans still need to be sun-dried or machine-dried to reduce moisture content to 12%. Since the pulp has been removed in the washed method, there's no need to worry about mold issues during drying like in the natural method. The dried parchment beans are not as hard as natural-processed beans with pulp and skin, allowing hulling machines to remove the parchment and obtain green beans.

Natural Processing Process

1. Harvest ripe coffee fruits

2. Initial screening to remove impurities and defective beans

3. Floating separation: Coffee fruits are poured into water tanks. Mature, full fruits sink to the bottom, while immature or damaged fruits float to the surface.

4. Sun drying: The mature coffee fruits at the bottom are scooped out and spread on drying patios for sun drying, reducing moisture from 70% to about 10-12%. They need to be turned several times daily for even drying, and covered at night to avoid moisture absorption.

5. Hulling: After about two to four weeks of sun exposure, the outer layers of the coffee seeds have dried and hardened. At this point, hulling machines are used to remove the outer layers.

6. Packaging and shipping: The hulled coffee beans are packaged in bags, becoming what we commonly call green beans. Finally, through various roasting processes and brewing variations, they can present millions of different flavor profiles.

Guatemala Coffee Varieties

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

Bourbon: A natural variant of Typica. When ripe, coffee fruits display a wine-red color, and the coffee beans are relatively round. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically has excellent aroma and bright acidity, with flavors similar to red wine.

Typica: Typica shows excellent flavor performance and is recognized as a specialty coffee variety, but yields are extremely low and it's susceptible to rust disease, requiring more labor-intensive management. Typica coffee originates from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere. The plants are relatively robust but intolerant to direct sunlight. Typica's top leaves are bronze-colored, earning it the name "copper-topped coffee."

Caturra: A natural variant of Bourbon discovered in Brazil in 1937. Its plant is shorter and smaller than Bourbon. Although it inherits Bourbon's lineage, making it relatively disease-resistant, its yield is higher than Bourbon. Despite being discovered in Brazil, Caturra is not suitable for growth there and was not widely cultivated. Instead, it became popular in Central and South America, with large-scale cultivation in countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

Catuai: A hybrid coffee variety created by crossing Caturra and Mundo Novo. Catuai inherits Caturra's short stature, requires no shade, is easy to grow, and convenient to harvest. It also has better resistance to natural disasters than Mundo Novo and shows good acidity in flavor. Catuai generally comes in both red fruit and yellow fruit types.

The above information compiled by FrontStreet Coffee covers Guatemalan coffee beans. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce the Guatemalan coffee beans currently available at FrontStreet Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Huehuetenango (Daily Bean)

Country: Guatemala

Region: Huehuetenango

Altitude: 1500-2000m

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Washed

Bean Appearance: Relatively uniform beans

Flavor: Nuts, lemon peel, berries, citrus

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua Flora Coffee Beans

Country: Guatemala

Region: Antigua

Altitude: 1200m

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra

Processing: Washed

Flavor: Berries, citrus, light floral notes, soft fruit acidity, chocolate aftertaste

The above is brief information about these two Guatemalan coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee. When FrontStreet Coffee introduces any new coffee bean, extensive roasting and brewing tests are conducted, and the optimal roasting and brewing data is selected to brew for coffee enthusiasts. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share the roasting and brewing data for Guatemala Antigua Flora coffee beans for reference.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

These green coffee beans are round, greenish-yellow, with relatively uniform consistency and medium moisture content. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters aim for a medium roast -一方面 preserving the bright acidity to showcase floral and fruit aromas, while enhancing richness and balance.

Roasting Machine: Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Heat

Preheat the roaster to 200°C, set air damper to 3. After 30 seconds, reduce heat to 160°C, keeping air damper unchanged. Return temperature point at 1'36". Maintain heat. At 4'50", the bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. Reduce heat to 140°C, adjust air damper to 4. Dehydration completes at 4'50", reduce heat to 140°C. At 8'32", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 8'37", first crack begins. Reduce heat to 80°C, open air damper fully to 5 (be very careful when reducing heat - don't reduce it so much that crack sounds disappear). Develop for 1'50" after first crack, then unload at 195.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: V60 Dripper

Dose: 15 grams

Ratio: 1:15

Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: EK43s grinder setting 10

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Technique

Multi-stage extraction.

30ml water for bloom, 30 seconds. Continue pouring to 125g for the first stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g for the second stage. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Total extraction time is two minutes.

Flavor Description:

Floral notes, citrus acidity, caramel, slight smoky aroma

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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