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Guatemala Coffee Bean Varieties and Characteristics: Elegant, Lively Fruit Acidity

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Guatemala Coffee Introduction. In the long historical changes of Guatemala, it once prospered due to the Mayan culture. The country hosts everything from large-scale farms to small-scale households, including many historic farms. In the 1750s, Jesuit priests introduced coffee

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Guatemalan Coffee

In the long course of historical changes, Guatemala once flourished due to the Mayan culture. The country is home to everything from large-scale farms to small-scale family operations, including many with long histories. In the 1750s, Jesuit priests introduced coffee to Guatemala. However, it wasn't until after gaining independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1812, combined with waves of immigration from Germany, that coffee trees were officially planted in Guatemala.

Guatemala's geographical features are characterized by its exposure to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, along with conditions such as lakes, Mexican plains, and high mountain regions. This natural environment is inherently rich in diversity. Farms across the country make good use of their surrounding environments to develop unique coffee cultivation practices.

Guatemalan Strictly Hard Beans are renowned for their elegant and lively acidity, clean and pure flavor, distinct layers, as well as green apple sourness, berry aromas, jasmine floral notes, citrus peel fragrance, green pepper notes, fruity sweetness, chocolate sweetness, and even a smoky aftertaste.

Such rich regional flavors are likely related to the terroir of Guatemala's eight major producing regions. Among them, Antigua, Acatenango Valley, Atitlán, San Marcos, and Huehuetenango are volcanic rock geological regions. Additionally, Cobán, Nuevo Oriente, and the three other regions belong to non-volcanic highlands or tropical rainforest climates. Guatemala boasts more than 300 microclimates throughout the country,堪称 the world's most diverse in this regard.

Varieties - Kind

Most Arabica varieties here are Bourbon

This region primarily produces Arabica coffee, with the majority being Bourbon variety, while only a small amount of Typica remains. Additionally, there are compact Catimor or Catuai varieties, and in recent years, the Pacamara variety has been actively cultivated as well.

Quality Grading by Altitude

Higher altitude regions receive high praise for their coffee with acidity and richness, while lower altitude production lacks these acidic and rich characteristics. Therefore, farms have increasingly moved to higher elevations. In the grading system based on altitude, the highest grade is called "Strictly Hard Bean."

Knowledge point: Most Guatemalan coffee beans are grown in high-altitude volcanic soil and belong to the highest grade Arabica variety.

In Summary

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a research-oriented coffee house that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Furthermore, we hold three coffee discount events every month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to offer the best coffee at the lowest prices to more friends—this has been our mission for six years!