Introduction to Guatemalan Huehuetenango Coffee Bean Growing Region - Flavor Characteristics of Huehuetenango Coffee

Have You Ever Tried Coffee with a Smoky Note?

Perhaps you're curious about how coffee can have a smoky flavor—and it's naturally occurring! FrontStreet Coffee offers two coffee beans from Guatemala that feature this distinctive smoky characteristic: one is the Huehuetenango coffee, and the other is the Guatemala Flor coffee.

When first tasting Guatemala Huehuetenango coffee, you might confuse it with Ethiopian washed Yirgacheffe coffee, or compare Guatemala Flor coffee with Ethiopian Red Cherry coffee, as both have some fruity acidity. However, if you taste carefully, you'll discover that Ethiopian coffee has brighter floral notes and sharper acidity, while Guatemala coffee has softer acidity, a more substantial mouthfeel, and a hint of regional smokiness.

Guatemala produces some of the world's finest coffees, thanks to its high-altitude volcanic terrain. These volcanoes provide the ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. Compared to other coffee varieties, cuppers particularly prefer this spiced, blended flavor coffee. The region's Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) coffee is exceptionally rare—it features full, flavorful beans with balanced acidity. Additionally, its giant coffee beans have also brought Guatemala considerable attention.

Guatemala Antigua coffee beans not only have a smooth surface, high hardness, and excellent quality, but they also offer a perfect balance of richness, acidity, and sweetness. Added to this is a subtle smoky flavor that further emphasizes its depth and mystery.

Guatemala Geography

Located in the heart of the Americas, Guatemala occupies an important geographical position in Central America. The country covers approximately 108,899 square kilometers. Its landscape features include: highland volcanoes, lowland tropical forests, Pacific coastal volcanic sandy plains, and Caribbean coastal virgin lands. The Central American Sierra Madre mountain range stretches across Guatemala from east to west, covering about two-thirds of the country, with 34 volcanoes within its borders. In this country, rivers and lakes dot the landscape, while equatorial forests and plains jungles cover the land. The Pacific and Caribbean coasts also feature undeveloped volcanic beaches.

Guatemala Climate

Guatemala is located in the tropics, with the northern and eastern coastal plains having a tropical rainforest climate, while the southern highlands have a subtropical climate. The year is divided into wet and dry seasons: May to October is the wet season, and November to April of the following year is the dry season. The narrow, fertile plains along Guatemala's Pacific coast have a tropical climate. The central highlands are also Guatemala's cultural center, where at elevations between 1,300 to 1,800 meters, temperatures remain mild year-round, with daily temperatures between 18-28°C. At higher elevations, January and February tend to be colder.

Annual rainfall in the northeast ranges from 2,000-3,000 millimeters, while the south receives 500-1,000 millimeters. Guatemala has a high average altitude, with coffee growing zones distributed above 1,500 meters, between 14-16 degrees north latitude, making it ideal for producing Strictly Hard Beans. All are washed processed, with 45% classified as specialty grade—a remarkably high proportion—with a small amount of Robusta also present.

Among Guatemala's three non-volcanic coffee-producing regions, the Huehuetenango Highlands is the driest and highest altitude area. Dry, hot winds from Mexico's Tehuantepec Plateau protect the region's coffee from frost damage, allowing coffee to be cultivated at altitudes up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet). Due to its remote location, all coffee farmers must process their coffee themselves. Fortunately, the region has countless streams, allowing small processing facilities to be established almost anywhere.

Nearly all (98%) of Guatemala's coffee is grown under shade, with most being Arabica varieties. Guatemala has a high average altitude, with coffee growing zones distributed above 1,500 meters, between 14-16 degrees north latitude, making it ideal for producing Strictly Hard Beans.

Guatemala's coffee-growing regions include: Antigua, Huehuetenango, Cobán, San Marcos, Atitlán, Acatenango, Fraijanes, and New Oriente.

Antigua

The Antigua region is recognized worldwide as Guatemala's most popular coffee-producing area. The soil in the Antigua region is rich in nutrients, these abundant nutrients come from minerals deposited after nearby volcanic eruptions. The still-active Fuego volcano continues to deposit new minerals, keeping the soil fertile. Fertile soil, abundant rainfall, and stable temperatures have made Antigua's coffee famous worldwide. For example: FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Flor coffee.

Huehuetenango

Huehuetenango is an important coffee-producing region in Guatemala, and its name pronunciation is quite interesting. This name comes from the Nahuatl language, meaning "land of ancestors (or forefathers)." Among Guatemala's three non-volcanic regions, Huehuetenango is the highest and driest. Despite having elevations over 2,000 meters with steep, jagged peaks and narrow valleys, the region still receives warm winds from the Tehuantepec plains in Mexico, allowing coffee to be grown at high altitudes without suffering from frost damage.

Huehuetenango's extremely remote high mountain terrain means that coffee producers in this region must process their coffee beans independently. Fortunately, the area has countless rivers and streams, allowing local growers to set up coffee processing facilities almost anywhere.

In addition to rich chocolate flavors, Huehuetenango coffee also carries notes of pear, apple, and cinnamon. These elements combine to create a delicate, smooth, syrup-like mouthfeel, gradually revealing mild burned cedar wood and caramel notes. Most coffees from this region have strong body and intense aroma, but can sometimes be gentle with a long, complex aftertaste. Some coffee estates are situated between mountains, where unique microclimates help coffee develop more diverse flavors.

Guatemala Huehuetenango Coffee Bean Processing Method

Due to the numerous rivers and lakes throughout Guatemala, the Huehuetenango region has abundant mountain and water resources. The climate is dry but water is plentiful, and the region has complete water infrastructure facilities, so coffee mostly uses washed processing methods.

Washed Processing Procedure

1. Harvesting. After picking ripe coffee cherries, impurities, defective beans, and floaters are initially sorted out—the same as the natural process up to this point.

2. Depulping. Fresh cherries are sent through a depulping machine to remove the skin and pulp. Immature cherries, whose pulp doesn't separate easily, are screened out at this stage. After passing through the depulping machine, what remains is the mucilage, parchment, and seeds.

3. Fermentation to remove mucilage. The depulped seeds with mucilage are moved to fermentation tanks. Although it's called the "washed" method, it doesn't actually wash away the mucilage—instead, fermentation biologically breaks down the mucilage. The fermentation process takes about 16-36 hours, during which the mixture must be stirred frequently to accelerate the separation of mucilage from the seeds. Washed fermentation produces acidic substances like citric acid, malic acid, and acetic acid. These acids penetrate the raw beans, giving washed coffee a more acidic taste than naturally processed coffee. After fermentation is complete, the actual washing takes place—the beans are washed again.

4. Drying. After washing, the beans still need to be sun-dried or machine-dried to reduce moisture content to 12%. Since the pulp has been removed in the washed process, there's no need to worry about mold issues during drying like in the natural process. The dried parchment coffee beans are not as hard as natural-processed beans that still contain pulp and skin, and can be hulled with a hulling machine to obtain the raw beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Huehuetenango Brewing Parameters:

To highlight Huehuetenango's moderate fruit acidity, berry notes, and regional characteristics of lemon peel and smokiness, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters have applied a medium-light roast level to the Huehuetenango beans. For brewing, we chose the Hario V60, whose relatively fast flow rate allows for extracted coffee with distinct flavor layers and noticeable aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee uses a V60 dripper with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, medium grind (approximately raw sugar size/80% retention on China #20 standard sieve), and 91°C water temperature.

We use a segmented extraction method, blooming with twice the coffee powder weight in water—that is, 30g of water for 30 seconds. The blooming process is necessary to allow the coffee powder to release internal carbon dioxide gas, making the subsequent extraction more stable. With a small water flow, pour in a circular motion to 125g, then continue pouring to 225g and stop. Remove the dripper after the water has finished dripping. Time from the beginning of pouring is 2'00". Next, pick up the entire coffee pot, shake it well, and pour it into a cup for tasting.

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Huehuetenango flavor profile: citrus and berry acidity, with dark chocolate notes in the middle, and a slightly smoky aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala Flor flavor profile: more prominent citrus acidity, juicy fruit acidity, rich floral notes, pleasant sweetness, medium body, with slight caramel and smoky notes in the finish. Overall, it's clean, mild, with a smooth texture and balanced, lively, and varied layers.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Suggestions:

Regarding coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans greatly affects the flavor. Therefore, all coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted quality coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, the flavor is at its best.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee kindly reminds you: once coffee beans are ground in advance, they no longer need a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging also helps round out the coffee's flavor. Therefore, you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, as it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air—meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and it won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests purchasing whole beans and grinding them fresh for each brew to better enjoy the coffee's flavor.

Coffee from each region has its own characteristic flavors. To allow more coffee enthusiasts to taste coffees from around the world, FrontStreet Coffee offers over fifty single-origin coffee beans from various producing countries, fully satisfying coffee lovers' interests and explorations. Of course, if you're not sure what kind of flavor you like, that's okay too—FrontStreet Coffee also has 9 daily coffee beans, all representing various producing countries, such as: Ethiopian washed Yirgacheffe coffee, Panamanian Boquete Geisha coffee, China Yunnan Yunnan small bean coffee, Colombian Huilan coffee, and more. They offer excellent value and are very suitable choices for coffee beginners!

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

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473