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FrontStreet Coffee, Introduction to Guatemala Washed Alba Blanca SHB

The Huehuetenango region of Guatemala should be familiar to most specialty coffee drinkers. With its charming name and even more charming cups, it is treasure territory for specialty coffee: in 2015, five of the top seven winners in Guatemala's Cup of Excellence came from Huehuetenango, including the El Injerto estate.

The name Huehuetenango is said to come from the Nahuatl language, meaning "land of the ancients or ancestors." It is Guatemala's highest-altitude growing region. Thanks to the dry, hot winds blowing in from the neighboring Tehuantepec plain in Mexico, the region, despite its extreme elevation, is free of frost, and coffee grows even at 2000 meters. Huehuetenango is one of Guatemala's non-volcanic growing regions, characterized by unique fruit flavors and bright, delicate acidity.

The Alba Blanca cooperative was established in 1969 with 45 members, a cultivation area of 1.54 square kilometers, and an annual production of approximately 3300 bags of green beans, about 12 containers. Its certifications include FLO-CERT (Fair Trade), UTZ, and Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices.

Because the CUILCO region has abundant water and many member farmers own their own washing equipment, they can process their coffee themselves and deliver parchment straight to the cooperative, no need to haul fresh cherry over long mountain roads to distant washing stations after harvest.

Guatemala Washed Alba Blanca

Origin: Huehuetenango

Grade: SHB

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Bourbon 50% and Caturra 50%

Altitude: 1,400–1,800 meters

Harvest Season: 2016

Flavor Notes: fruit, honey, lemon notes, nuts

Knowledge Point: Forest covers two-thirds of Guatemala's total area, and the country produces high-quality beans with relatively strong acidity and a fragrant, slightly wild profile, enjoyable as single-origin coffee or in blends.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ask any experienced brewer to recommend a first dripper and the answer is very likely the Hario V60, which is exactly what a washed Guatemalan like this deserves. Hario, founded in Tokyo in 1921 as a maker of heat-resistant glassware for laboratories, redesigned the V60's prototype in 2004 and launched it the following year, named for its unique 60° cone angle and "V" shape. The cone and 60° angle force water to flow toward the center before dripping through, extending the contact time between water and grounds so aroma and flavor extract fully. Its signature single large hole leaves the flow rate almost entirely in the brewer's hands.

Before the millennium, coffee favored medium-dark roasts and cups prized for body, sweetness, and caramelized notes, think FrontStreet Blue Mountain No.1 or FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling, the darlings of that era. But with the third wave, brewers began chasing origin character, Ethiopia's white florals, Kenya's berry acidity, and roasting shifted lighter. The V60's fast extraction suits this perfectly, giving coffee more dimensional aromatics and lively acidity, so floral-fruity coffees shine in it.

FrontStreet picks for a V60: Yirgacheffe Guodingding, classic Yirgacheffe with vivid citrus, berries, florals, and a green-tea-like finish, an easy first step into pour-over. Ethiopia Huakui (Hua Kui), intense tropical fruit of strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee, with clear sweetness, almost no bitterness, and a juicy sip, "the coffee that doesn't taste like coffee." Panama Esmeralda Red Label Geisha, the legend of the specialty world: supremely elegant jasmine, citrus, bergamot, and black-tea-like delicacy, clean and transparent with a long sweet finish and rich layers, still one of the ultimate experiences coffee lovers chase. Kenya Cherry Tomato, from Thika at 1550–1750m on SL28 and SL34, with Kenya's signature 72-hour double-wash fermentation; light-roasted for bright cherry tomato and dried plum acidity like fresh-pressed juice, mid-palate sweetness of snow pear and black plum, and a clean, long finish of yellow sugar and green tea. FrontStreet Strawberry Sugar for Geisha character and FrontStreet Mozart for raisin notes round out the floral-fruity shortlist.

For those who prefer body over brightness, FrontStreet's medium-dark side includes the PWN Golden Mandheling (deep-roasted, low acid, herbal and dark chocolate with a whisper of earth), Brazil Queen Estate (balanced, nutty-cocoa with caramel sweetness, outstanding crema, great value), Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 (exquisite balance of cream, caramel, chocolate, nuts, honey, and light fruit), the 2013 Yunnan Sun-Dried Typica (clean citrus-caramel with nut, chocolate, and brown sugar at medium-dark), and Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise, a Typica lot from Paradise Bird estate in the Sigri region at 1600–1800m on volcanic soil, AA grade with three-stage washed fermentation, so clean and sweet that fans call it "little Blue Mountain."