Pache Coffee Variety Introduction: How to Drink and Brew Guatemala New Oriente Pache Coffee

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As a country with numerous volcanoes, Guatemala offers exceptionally favorable conditions for coffee cultivation, and the coffee it produces is of considerable quality. Guatemalan coffee has a distinctive smoky flavor, which is a major characteristic that sets it apart. At the same time, it has bright fruit acidity and fruity aromas. FrontStreet Coffee believes such coffee is truly worth trying.

New Oriente

With abundant rainfall and perennial shade from clouds, the climate is similar to that of the Cobán rainforest producing region. Formerly a volcanic area, the soil contains metamorphic rock. The minerals in the soil are balanced by that large amount of metamorphic rock. Coffee cultivation here is also quite different from typical Guatemalan volcanic regions. New Oriente coffee grows in volcanic soil, but there is no volcanic activity during its growing period.

New Oriente is Guatemala's newest coffee producing region, characterized by aromatic qualities, noticeable acidity, and quite a good texture.

Bean Information

Little Blueberry Estate is a formidable estate in Guatemala, having taken third and fifth place in last year's COE competition. The Pache variety is also quite rare - it is a natural mutation of Typica. This bean performs particularly well in terms of sweetness and balance.

Pache

Pache is a Guatemalan Typica variant discovered at Finca El Brito. It exists in two different forms: Pache Comum and Pache Colis. Both grow well, thriving at altitudes between 3,500 and 6,500 feet. The natural mutation of the Typica variety is associated with a single gene, which results in smaller plants (dwarfing) and allows denser planting and higher yields. The variety was discovered in 1949 at the Brito farm in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Santa Rosa, Guatemala. From there it was developed through selective breeding, meaning a group of individuals was chosen for superior performance, seeds from those plants were bulked to form a new generation, and the process was repeated. Large-scale selection was carried out on private farms in Guatemala and from there spread to other regions and countries.

Guatemala El Morito Pache

Little Blueberry Estate Pache from Guatemala

Country: Guatemala

Region: New Oriente

Altitude: 1550-1800M

Processing: Natural processing

Grade: SHB

Variety: PACHE

FrontStreet Coffee recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Hario V60 Brewing Parameters

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: BG 6L (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Brewing Technique: Bloom with 28g of water for 30 seconds. Pour to 127g in stages. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom.) Extraction time is 1 minute 50 seconds.

Flavor: On grinding, you can smell rich nutty and spicy aromas along with some light fermented berry notes. When hot, the entry is quite balanced, carrying some fermented fruit flavors and genmaicha tea notes, with nutty and almond flavors. As the temperature cools, it reveals citrus, berries, and the sweet-tart of ripe fruit, with a persistent sucrose aftertaste. Overall it is quite sweet and balanced.

The Origami dripper has many relatively deep longitudinal grooves on its sides and a large drainage hole at the bottom, which makes its flow rate tend to be faster. It is also made of ceramic, so its thermal conductivity and heat retention are quite good. Today, the editor paired it with flat-bottom filter paper. Because the paper's bottom is flat, the coffee grounds distribute evenly across it after being poured in, resulting in more even extraction during brewing and more uniform water flow.

Parameters & Technique

Water Temperature: 89°C; Medium-fine grind (BG 5Z: 54% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve); Coffee-to-water ratio 1:15;

Bloom with 36g of water for 30 seconds. Pour to 125g in stages. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom.) Extraction time is 1'42".

Flavor: There is a light fermented aroma, with cream, berries, nuts, dried apricots, and almond flavors. The mouthfeel is quite rich and full-bodied.

KONO Dripper

The KONO dripper's ribs are relatively short, stopping at less than half the dripper's height. This design mainly ensures that during dripping, the filter paper clings tightly to the dripper wall after absorbing water. That restricts the dripper's exhaust space, naturally limiting air flow, slowing the flow rate, and letting the coffee grounds spend a significant amount of time steeping. This increases the water absorption time of the coffee particles, resulting in more balanced extraction that is less likely to underextract.

Parameters & Technique

Water Temperature: 89°C; Medium-fine grind (BG 6M: 48% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve); Coffee-to-water ratio 1:15;

Bloom with 32g of water for 30 seconds. Pour to 122g in stages. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the bloom.) Extraction time is 1'48".

Flavor: It smells of light fermented aroma and sandalwood, with soft berry acidity, and flavors of cream, nuts, and chocolate. Overall quite balanced.

Siphon Brewer

The main principle of coffee extraction with a siphon brewer is the pressure difference. First, heat the water in the lower chamber to boiling, then insert the upper chamber, putting the lower chamber into a high-pressure state. Because of the pressure difference between the chambers, hot water rises to mix with the coffee grounds in the upper chamber for extraction. When extraction ends, remove the heat source from the lower chamber, causing an instantaneous reduction in the pressure difference. The siphoning effect between the upper and lower chambers causes the coffee extract to flow back down. If you want to speed up the return flow, wipe the lower chamber with a wet cloth, which reduces the pressure difference between the chambers and makes the extract return faster.

Parameters & Technique

Coffee Amount: 15g; Water Temperature: 88°C; Medium-fine grind (BG 6M: 48% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve); Coffee-to-water ratio 1:12;

Pour 183g of water into the lower chamber. When the water reaches 88°C, add the coffee grounds and stir ten times to ensure full contact between the grounds and the water. At 30 seconds of steeping, stir five times to increase extraction. At 1 minute, remove the heat source and stir. (Timing starts from adding the coffee grounds.) Extraction time is 1'20".

Flavor: There is a distinct fermented aroma, with entry flavors of berries, dried fruit, chocolate, cream, nuts, and sucrose. Both sweetness and balance are quite apparent.

END

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Guatemalan Pache is one of those coffees that rewards lighter roasting, which is why FrontStreet Coffee roasts its fruity, floral beans with the same restraint. The FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui is the most striking example, a naturally processed heirloom whose tropical fruit aroma ranges from strawberry and passion fruit to jackfruit and lychee, with low bitterness and a smooth, juicy body.

For a cleaner, citrus-led cup that suits the V60 parameters above, the FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gediding Cooperative delivers white florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a green tea finish. And for something more layered and complex, the FrontStreet Ethiopia Kafa Forest, grown wild between 1400 and 2100 meters in the UNESCO-recognized Kafa Biosphere Reserve, brings jasmine, citrus, and wild berry notes with fine, lively detail.