Introduction to La Minita Estate's Washed Caturra Coffee Beans from Antigua, Guatemala

In Guatemala, 98% of coffee grown is Arabica - meaning nearly the entire country produces specialty-grade beans. Even more striking, up to 45% of Guatemala's coffee can clear the Specialty Coffee Association's 80-point evaluation threshold. Coffee of this quality ranks among the world's finest premium lots.

Central America is flanked by the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific to the west, with Mexico to the north, Belize to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Guatemala, blessed with both timing and geography, sits in a subtropical highland climate with abundant rainfall and comfortable temperatures year-round. More than a dozen volcanoes have blanketed the country in fertile, mineral-rich volcanic ash soil - a specialty coffee kingdom with extraordinary natural advantages.

FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua Flor Goddess

Region: Antigua Volcanic Zone

Estate: La Minita

Export: La Minita Group's brand "Flor Goddess"

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon

Altitude: 1200 to 1600 meters

Grade: European Standard Washed Strictly Hard Bean (SHB)

Processing: Traditional washed processing

FrontStreet Coffee's Flor Goddess coffee leads with a graceful, elegant floral aroma, backed by soft acidity and a chocolate-like finish. The cup is clean and bright, sweet and smooth, with distinct fruit-acid layers and lingering floral and fruity notes.

Antigua, legend says, is the birthplace of Guatemalan coffee. The region occupies a closed valley ringed by three active volcanoes and vast primeval forest - an exceptionally favorable growing environment of warm days and cool nights, pleasant seasons, and a stable rhythm between dry and wet periods. Altitude: 1500-1700 meters. Flavor: rich, silky, sweet, with nutty and cocoa notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If washed processing is what draws you to this Guatemalan lot, FrontStreet Coffee's washed shelf has more to offer. The Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Red Cherry cooperative lot is washed precision at its best - jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity, gaining green-tea and honey tones after a medium-light roast, and comfortable across pour-over, cold brew, or even espresso.

For a different expression of the same cleanliness, the Kenya Little Tomato uses Kenya's signature double-washed fermentation to produce a juicy cup of cherry tomato, dark plum, pear, and black plum with yellow-sugar sweetness, while the washed Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 - developed precisely because the island's short sunshine hours demanded faster drying - delivers hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel with the kind of perfect, unexaggerated balance that made it famous.