Guatemala Antigua Coffee History Sharing & Best Pour-Over Method Introduction

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FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Antigua Historical Introduction

The ancient city of Antigua Guatemala was listed in the first batch of UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1979, predating famous sites like the Athens Acropolis, Taj Mahal, and Angkor Wat. It was selected in the same group as the ancient city of Damascus, the Egyptian Pyramids, and America's Yellowstone National Park.

Like Mexico City, Antigua Guatemala was once a political and military center during Spanish colonial rule. The city center features a park and cathedral, with numerous churches, monasteries, seminaries, and historical sites, surrounded by a grid-like road system. This layout demonstrates typical Spanish colonial city characteristics, with the entire city filled with exquisitely carved and ornate Baroque architecture.

The Fuego volcano near Antigua is the most active. According to local residents, the major eruption in June 2018 caused unprecedented casualties of nearly 600 people. Ash and smoke rose to 11,000 meters, with volcanic lava flowing 8 kilometers. Many villages were trapped, houses caught fire, and villagers who couldn't escape were consumed by the flames. Some tourists who were watching the volcanic eruption on the mountain at the time disappeared without a trace, seriously impacting local tourism.

After the major Fuego volcano eruption in 2018, the area around this volcano has been designated as a restricted zone. Only nearby dormant volcanoes are permitted for climbing. Even now, Fuego volcano continues to spew lava and thick smoke daily. Dark red lava can be seen flowing down the mountainsides, and the area around the ancient city remains a tourist destination for viewing active volcanoes, attracting explorers and adventurers from around the world.

However, it is precisely because of the volcanoes that the wealth and prosperity of Antigua were created. The hills and gentle slopes formed by volcanic ash and dust accumulation are the most suitable places for growing coffee beans. The world's top coffee-producing regions all have such natural environmental conditions.

The altitude here is relatively high with a mild climate, belonging to the subtropical climate zone. Under the influence of this climate, coffee trees bloom and bear fruit more slowly than coffee trees in other regions of the world. Connoisseurs consider this coffee to be among the world's finest and most distinctive. The Antigua Guatemala region is one of the main coffee-producing areas, where the beans belong to the Bourbon variety of coffee beans—one of the more acidic varieties. The coffee beans have high density, with a mellow yet slightly wild flavor that brings satisfaction.

Coffee produced in Antigua belongs to specialty coffee, mostly brewed using pour-over methods. FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala coffee is typically roasted to medium-light levels, so appropriate ratios are needed to highlight the flavors.

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: Medium-fine
Water temperature: 91°C
Pour-over method: Three-stage extraction
These parameters best highlight the flavors of specialty coffee.

Knowledge Point

Guatemala has over 300 microclimates throughout its territory, considered a world record.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research establishment, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee promotion events with significant discounts because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

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