Starbucks Cacisero Coffee Beans The Story of Guatemala Cacisero Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee - Guatemala Cacisero Introduction

The Antigua Valley in Guatemala sits in a lush highland area of Central America - a place that volcanoes have destroyed, yet made famous all the same. This is where Starbucks' Guatemala Cacisero coffee grows.

The charm of Guatemala Cacisero lies in the professional roasting that draws out its floral aroma, lively acidity, and smooth cocoa finish. In Spanish, "Cacisero" means "like paradise."

Guatemala was one of the centers of ancient Maya culture. In the Maya-Toltec language, Guatemala means "land of dense forests," and two-thirds of the country is plateau. High altitude, a mild climate, abundant sunlight, cool nighttime temperatures, and periodic rainy seasons give Guatemala excellent natural conditions for coffee. The country is also dotted with active volcanoes, and its fertile soil lets the region produce world-class coffee.

In 1523 the Spanish arrived in Guatemala. They destroyed the local Maya culture and began their colonial rule. During this period, destructive policies wiped out most Maya books, leaving only a small portion intact, and in 1524 Guatemala became a full Spanish colony.

Antigua became the capital in 1543, during the Spanish colonial era. Though it sat in a valley ringed by overlapping active volcanoes, this mysterious, vast, and exceptionally fertile land still tempted the Spanish to place their capital in the rift valley. It was later swallowed by the volcanoes. After the disaster the area came under indigenous management, and it was the resilient, hardworking indigenous people who grew the world-renowned coffee here.

Guatemala Cacisero

Processing Method: Washed

Region: Latin America

Flavor: Cocoa, Caramel

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Washed processing - the method behind Cacisero - is what gives this style of coffee its clarity and its clean cocoa and caramel finish. It is the traditional water-based way of handling coffee fruit: flotation, depulping, a soak-and-ferment to break down the mucilage, then washing or a further soak, drying, and hulling to free the bean. Because the beans rest in water for so long, chemical changes consume much of their simple sugars while raising various organic acids. That is why washed coffees keep more of the bean's own aroma and show bright fruit acidity with a clean, fresh character.

FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is a classic washed cup with exactly that balanced, cocoa-and-caramel temperament. It comes from Clifton, a well-known estate within Jamaica's certified Blue Mountain region, where high-altitude mist, volcanic soil, and a mild climate let the cherries ripen slowly. Acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma stay in harmony, and the cup is smooth and rounded, with cream, caramel, chocolate, nut, and honey. FrontStreet's No. 1 uses beans from the certified region, roasted medium-dark, and is backed by full origin certification and the original shipping barrels. In the cup, nut, dark chocolate, and creamy caramel unfold in layers over a soft sweetness - a reliable everyday coffee and a fine gift.

For a brighter, more fruit-forward washed coffee, FrontStreet's Yirgacheffe Gudingding shows the style at its most vivid. Yirgacheffe is a byword for top Ethiopian coffee, and this lot delivers jasmine and bright citrus acidity, opening into green tea and honey at a medium-light roast. Unlike the "sour coffee" some people picture, its acidity is gentle and bright - the sweet-tart of fresh fruit rather than a harsh bite - which makes it an easy introduction to pour-over. And FrontStreet's Kenya Small Tomato, from Kenya's Thika region at 1,550-1,750 meters, is grown from the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties with plump, round beans. The coffee gets Kenya's signature 72-hour double-washed fermentation, and a light roast preserves its lively acidity and layered fruit: clear cherry tomato and smoked plum, a juicy body, a sweet mid-palate with snow pear and black plum, and a clean, long finish of yellow sugar and green tea.