The Historical Origins and Development of Blueberry Estate Pache - What Variety is Blueberry Estate Pache

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Guatemalan Coffee: An Introduction

Guatemalan coffee - hmm! The name might make you think it's from Africa, but no, Guatemalan coffee actually comes from the Americas! Guatemala was once the cradle of the famous Mayan civilization, and you might find it hard to imagine that Guatemalan coffee possesses the qualities of cultural crystallization! The main coffee variety cultivated in Guatemala is Bourbon, one of the varieties with distinct acidity, characterized by its mellow flavor and slightly wild characteristics.

Ancient Civilization of Guatemala

In the indigenous language, Guatemala means "land of dense forests," and it was one of the centers of ancient Mayan culture.

Guatemala is located in Central America, blessed with a unique geographical environment. It connects with North America to the north and borders South America to the south. Facing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, its climate is relatively humid and hot, making it an important coffee-producing region worldwide.

Guatemalan coffee-growing areas are distributed above 1500 meters altitude, between 14°-16° north latitude, which is ideal for growing extremely hard beans. Guatemala has seven major producing regions, among which Nuevo Oriente is the youngest. This area receives abundant rainfall and belongs to the rainforest zone like Cobán, but with slightly less humidity and rainfall. This region was once the poorest part of Guatemala until the 1980s, when the strong demand for specialty coffee encouraged mountain residents to join in, revitalizing the area.

Guatemalan Varieties

Guatemalan varieties are mainly Bourbon, Typica, Catuai, and Catimor. Today, FrontStreet Coffee introduces to you a Typica variety - Pache.

Pache is a natural mutation of Typica. The plant is smaller, allowing for denser planting and higher yields. It is suitable for cultivation at altitudes above 1200 meters and in areas with annual rainfall below 2,500 millimeters. This variety was discovered in 1949 at the Brito farm in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Guatemala.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Little Blueberry Estate Pache

Country: Guatemala

Region: Nuevo Oriente

Altitude: 1550-1800m

Processing: Natural processing

Grade: SHB

Variety: PACHE

The Little Blueberry Estate has been among the top three estates in Guatemala's Cup of Excellence competition for three consecutive years (2015-2nd, 2014-3rd, 2013-2nd; 2017-4th). It is one of the highest-altitude and most exceptional estates in all of Guatemala. The estate owner professionally manages the farm, challenging coffee cultivation at 2300 meters altitude and pushing the limits of Arabica cultivation where higher altitude means better flavor. In recent years, it has demonstrated outstanding strength in various competitions.

Due to the extremely high altitude of this origin, one must pass through two cloud layers to reach it. The cold climate nurtures extremely resilient fruits, producing exceptional coffee flavors. The estate owner plants different coffee varieties in different sections of the farm, with slightly different flavors and textures. The Pache cultivated here brings out cocoa flavors and a rich mouthfeel. As a rare natural processed batch from Guatemala, the coffee exhibits strong black cherry and blueberry flavors, worthy of your appreciation.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

Machine: Yangjia 800N semi-direct flame roaster

Because the Pache beans are of excellent quality as natural processed beans, with the raw beans already carrying rich fruit flavors, FrontStreet Coffee's roaster adopted light roasting to highlight its characteristics.

Preheat the roaster to 170°C before charging, set damper to 3. After 30 seconds, turn on the heat, adjust to 140, damper unchanged. Return temperature at 1'32", reaching 103.4°C. At 140°C, heat unchanged, damper opened to 4. At 5 minutes, the beans turn yellow, grassy aroma disappears, entering the dehydration stage, heat reduced to 120, damper maintained at 4. At 176°C, adjust heat to 100, damper unchanged.

At 8'30", dehydration is complete, wrinkles and black markings appear on the bean surface, toast aroma transforms to coffee aroma, signaling the prelude to first crack. At this point, pay attention to listen for the first crack sound. At 9'20", first crack begins, damper fully opened to 5, while heat adjusted to 70. Development time after first crack is 1'30", discharge at 195.4°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: BG#6s

Brewing Method: 30g of water for bloom for 30 seconds, pour water to 125g 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 again, remove the dripper. (Timer starts from bloom) Extraction time is two minutes.

Flavor Description: When grinding, you can smell rich nutty and spicy aromas with some slight fermented berry fragrance. When hot, the entrance is relatively balanced, with some fermented fruit notes and genmaicha (roasted rice tea) sensation, featuring nutty and almond flavors. As the temperature drops, it reveals citrus, berry, and mature fruit sweetness and acidity, with a long-lasting sugarcane aftertaste. Overall, it's quite sweet and balanced.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473