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FrontStreet Coffee - Guatemala Antigua La Flor Washed

Origin: Antigua La Minita

Altitude: 1850m

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Washed

Origin Introduction

Guatemala is located in the Central American isthmus, with many high mountains and plateaus formed by volcanoes, producing high-quality Central American high-altitude strictly hard bean coffee, ranking as the world's 9th largest coffee producer. Guatemala's main coffee producing regions include Antigua, Huehuetenango, Atitlan, Coban, Fraijanes, Acatenango, and others. All coffee produced in Guatemala's seven major coffee-growing regions is Arabica, located in highland terrain under subtropical climate conditions, with abundant and stable rainfall and fertile volcanic ash soil, providing excellent natural conditions for coffee cultivation throughout Guatemala.

Each region has unique flavors, with superior acidity and fruity notes that are smooth and palatable, making it one of the world's top-grade coffees, suitable for single-origin consumption. The Antigua region is located in the topographically mountainous area that traverses Guatemala, primarily in the Madre plateau region. Due to these natural conditions, Antigua has become Guatemala's most famous producing region.

Antigua Region Introduction

La Flor is a brand of coffee under La Minita Company, produced in the Antigua region of Guatemala. Surrounded by active volcanoes at an altitude of 1850 meters, it is the country's most award-winning and renowned coffee producing region.

Antigua experiences little rainfall in summer, and winter frosts occasionally occur due to extreme cold, conditions not ideal for coffee tree growth. Fortunately, being situated in an active volcanic zone, lightweight pumice from volcanic eruptions falls into the soil and, after cooling, retains moisture well due to its porous nature. Combined with numerous shade trees planted in the estate, coffee trees are protected from cold damage in winter. These factors that overcome adverse conditions, along with significant day-night temperature variations, create Antigua's unique microclimate, giving its coffee beans a subtle smoky flavor and rich fruity notes.

La Minita is renowned for its excellent cultivation, processing techniques, and extremely strict quality control. They commission Las Pastores, Antigua's largest washed processing plant, to handle the green beans according to their standards, naming this coffee "La Flor." In addition to preserving the original regional characteristics, the dry aroma carries rich floral and tea notes. Upon tasting, lime acidity and berry flavors emerge, transitioning to a honey-like aftertaste. Excellent clarity and rich layered complexity are the hallmarks of this La Flor coffee.

La Minita Estate does not use pesticides. Due to its geographical advantages, the climate and altitude naturally limit pest populations, and the few pests present do not significantly affect the coffee trees. As the rainy season ends, coffee cherries begin to ripen, with green fruits turning red. However, coffee cherry maturation is slow and uneven, unlike the rapid and uniform flowering, so harvesting must be handled more carefully, collecting only fully ripe deep red cherries. The fruit from a single tree may require up to 5 separate harvests depending on ripeness. The estate conducts soil testing twice yearly to determine fertilization needs. La Minita Estate is cautious when using yield-increasing products, applying fertilizer approximately 3 times per year.

Additionally, trace elements like zinc, boron, and copper provide more nutrients to coffee trees and prevent diseases. Such scientific cultivation management has resulted in La Flor coffee's exceptional flavor and consistent quality reputation over the years. Following La Minita's famous quality control procedures, the entire process from cultivation to packaging is strictly supervised. These complex procedures ensure that Pastores processing plant provides only the highest quality coffee, strictly adhering to the estate's standard operating procedures. The Antigua region itself is the most famous of Guatemala's seven producing regions, with high altitude, unique volcanic soil, and shade-grown cultivation, giving Antigua coffee beans their distinctive regional flavor characteristics.

Processing Method

1. Removing Floating Beans: Coffee beans are poured into large water tanks. Underdeveloped, inferior beans float to the surface, while mature, full fruits sink to the bottom. The floating beans are then skimmed off, completing this step.

2. Removing Skin and Pulp: The outer skin and pulp of coffee cherries are removed using a depulper. (This leaves the mucilage, parchment, and silver skin intact).

3. Fermentation: This step uses biological methods to remove the mucilage. Coffee cherries that have undergone depulping are placed in fermentation tanks for 16-36 hours, during which fermentation bacteria dissolve the mucilage.

4. Washing: After fermentation and mucilage removal, fermentation bacteria and impurities remain on the coffee beans, so they are washed again. This step consumes large amounts of clean water to ensure thorough washing.

5. Drying and Removing Parchment and Silver Skin: Coffee cherries are dried until moisture content reaches 10-14%. Then, hulling machines remove the remaining parchment and silver skin, completing the processing.

Important Notice :

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