What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Pour-Over Coffee | Guatemala La Minita Flor de Cafe Pearls with Floral Aroma

FrontStreet Coffee: La Minita La Flor Peaberry

The Geography of La Minita Estate

Hacienda La Minita lies in Costa Rica's famous Tarrazu region. Thanks to the estate's excellent geography and microclimate, La Minita's beans taste more balanced and more aromatic than other coffees from Tarrazu.

Of La Minita's total cultivated area of 1,200 acres, 680 acres are currently under cultivation. Of the remaining 520 acres, 200 acres in the southern part of the estate are kept as a natural forest protection zone where coffee cultivation is prohibited. The plantation runs east to west, bordered by the Tarrazu River to the south and the Alumbre River to the north; the two converge at the western ridge where the estate sits. The soil is a grayish-white, yellow-brown, and light-red clay rich in organic matter. Some parts of the estate reach an altitude of 1,830 meters, though the central area ranges between 1,250-1,650 meters.

Despite the differences in altitude and temperature, the large rivers surrounding the estate create a cooling effect that minimizes them. The farm also faces west, so it warms gradually through the morning and cools slowly in the evening. That combination makes for exceptionally favorable conditions.

La Minita La Flor Peaberry

• Country: Guatemala
• Region: Antigua
• Altitude: 1,200-1,600 meters
• Processing: Washed
• Grade: SHB
• Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon
• Flavor profile: Floral notes lead, with a chocolate-like aftertaste, strong caramel sweetness, and a clean, bright, full-bodied acidity.

La Minita's star product is handled by the renowned Las Pastores mill in Guatemala. Under the strict supervision of the La Minita group, everything from green bean purchasing to washing and sun-drying follows the company's famous quality control standards. The entire chain, from cultivation to packaging, is closely monitored to guarantee that Pastores provides only the highest-quality La Flor coffee while adhering to the estate's standard operating procedures. Antigua itself is the most famous of Guatemala's seven major coffee-producing regions: high altitude, distinctive volcanic soil, and shade-grown cultivation give its beans a regional character all their own.

A Note on Technique

Pour-over brewing is often divided into eight schools: one-cut, three-cut, volcano, meteorite, Matsuya, press-and-pour, stirring, and drip.

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall dedicated to sharing knowledge about coffee with everyone, without reservation, because the aim is to help more people fall in love with coffee. Every month it holds three coffee events with low discounts, because it wants more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A floral, clean cup like La Flor Peaberry is made for pour-over — and so are these three FrontStreet selections.

FrontStreet Gedeb Cooperative. The classic Yirgacheffe profile and a bean many drinkers meet on their first step into specialty coffee: clean, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance and a tea-like finish, and none of the old bitterness.

FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui. Its signature is an exceptionally forward tropical-fruit aroma — strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, even lychee. The sweetness is pronounced, bitterness is minimal, and the entry is smooth and full of juice, which is why so many drinkers call it "the coffee that does not taste like coffee."

FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato. A Kenyan specialty washed bean built around bright cherry-tomato and smoked-plum acidity with a full, juicy body. Grown in Kenya's Thika region at 1550-1750 meters from the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, it undergoes Kenya's signature 72-hour double washed fermentation and a light roast. The dry aroma shows concentrated dried cherry tomato and florals; the cup brings clear cherry tomato and smoked plum, prominent mid-palate sweetness with pear and black plum, and a clean finish of yellow-sugar sweetness and a faint green tea aroma.