How Should Roasted Coffee Beans Be Stored? Guatemala Coffee Development History and Washed Bourbon Coffee Bean Flavor

Guatemalan coffee has always been an important part of FrontStreet Coffee's offerings. To date, FrontStreet Coffee has featured 14 different varieties of Guatemalan coffee, each with different flavor profiles yet sharing remarkably similar characteristics. FrontStreet Coffee recently ran promotions, and we believe many of you have stocked up on coffee beans. Worried about not being able to finish them? After reading this article, you'll want to buy even more. Today's coffee knowledge focuses specifically on roasted coffee beans.

How to Keep Your Coffee Beans Fresh and Lively Until the Last Cup?

Keep it in the Original Package

The best way to store coffee is to keep it in the bag it came in. When coffee is roasted, gases (primarily carbon dioxide) form inside the beans and need to be released. Most coffee bags are designed with a one-way valve that effectively allows gases to escape while preventing air from entering.

Keep Away from Light

Sunlight ages coffee, so it's recommended to store coffee in a light-proof place to maintain its dryness.

Buy Whole Coffee Beans

Ground coffee loses freshness much faster than whole beans. Grinding coffee beans just before brewing maximizes coffee freshness.

Avoid the Refrigerator

Try not to store coffee in the refrigerator. After roasting, coffee becomes highly porous and can absorb moisture and odors from the refrigerator and freezer, affecting the overall flavor integrity of the coffee.

Coffee begins to lose its subtle brightness approximately two weeks after roasting. We recommend purchasing coffee that can be consumed within two to three weeks. So please consume according to your capacity! Practice moderate consumption, folks. FrontStreet Coffee's promotions will continue to update, so if you stay tuned, you can keep taking advantage of these deals!

A Review of Guatemalan Coffee Knowledge

World Position as Coffee Exporting Country (19/20):

10th

Number of 60kg Bags Exported Annually (19/20):

Approximately 3,613,000

Percentage of World Coffee Market:

2.5%

Other Major Agricultural Exports:

Bananas, sugar, spices

Typical Varieties Produced:

Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Typica, Maragogipe, Pache, and Pacamara

Main Coffee Producing Regions:

Antigua, Acatenango, Atitlán, Cobán, Huehuetenango, Fraijanes, San Marcos, and Nuevo Oriente

Typical Harvest Time:

November to April

Typically Available:

Starting from April

For more than a century, coffee has powered Guatemala's economy. Today, an estimated 125,000 coffee producers drive Guatemala's coffee industry, and coffee remains one of Guatemala's main export products, accounting for 40% of all agricultural export revenue.

It was most likely Jesuit missionaries who introduced coffee to Guatemala, with accounts of it growing throughout the country in the early to mid-18th century. Nevertheless, in neighboring El Salvador, coffee became an important export crop in the mid-19th century, not only competing with the national synthetic dye and textile industries. Throughout the latter half of the 1800s, various government programs attempted to use coffee as a means to stimulate the economy, including a large-scale land privatization program initiated by President Justo Rufino Barrias in 1871, which led to the creation of large coffee estates, many of which still produce some of Guatemala's best coffee today.

Today, coffee is grown in 20 of Guatemala's 22 provinces, covering approximately 270,000 hectares, with almost all (98%) grown under shade. The country's production is almost exclusively Arabica coffee, most commonly prepared using the washed method, though natural and various semi-washed methods are becoming increasingly popular, with increasingly excellent examples being produced.

Among FrontStreet Coffee's fourteen Guatemalan coffee beans, most are washed beans. The washed Bourbon coffee from Huehuetenango is of excellent quality, with citrus and berry acidity upon entry, nutty aromas in the middle, and a tea-like finish that adds layers of complexity.

Guatemala benefits from high altitudes and as many as 300 unique microclimates. Most regions have consistent rainfall and mineral-rich soil. However, despite the country's excellent reputation as a specialty coffee producer today, this path has not been smooth. Guatemala's long and bloody civil war (1960-1996) disrupted millions of lives, eroded the economy, exacerbated poverty, and created social and political instability that still plagues the country today. Coffee production didn't truly stabilize and begin to increase until the turn of the century, replacing macadamia nut and avocado production in many regions.