Guatemala Coffee Cultivation, Coffee Development History, Coffee Varieties, and Introduction to Antigua Flower Goddess Coffee Beans

Guatemala's Coffee Heritage

Guatemala is located in southern North America, possessing tropical rainforests, volcanic soil, and diverse microclimates. These exceptional natural conditions provide an excellent growing environment for Guatemalan coffee.

According to a popular account, in the mid-18th century, Jesuit missionaries brought coffee plants to Antigua City to decorate their monasteries. By the early 19th century, records began to emerge of Guatemalans drinking coffee. At that time, Guatemala's main economic crop was a plant-based indigo dye, but its exports were weakened by locust plagues and the emergence of synthetic dyes. To revitalize the economy, the Guatemalan government began encouraging the cultivation of other crops, including coffee. Coffee only became an important crop in Guatemala after 1856. Later, in 1960, the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE) was established to enhance the national economy through coffee production and export.

Currently, Guatemala also cultivates multiple coffee varieties, including Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Gesha, and others. Besides these common varieties, some variants are now being cultivated.

Pache

Pache is a natural variant of Typica, related to a single gene that causes the plant to become smaller. This characteristic allows for denser planting and higher yields, but it has relatively poor disease resistance. This variety was discovered in 1949 at the Hacienda Brito in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Santa Rosa, Guatemala. The variety is best suited for cultivation at altitudes above 1,200 meters and in regions with annual rainfall below 2,500 millimeters. It is currently grown on a large scale in Guatemala.

Tekisic

This variety is a Bourbon selection developed by the Salvadoran Coffee Research Institute (ISIC) starting in 1949 and released in 1977. The selection process for Tekisic was called "mass selection" and involved selecting a group of individuals based on their superior performance. Through a repeated selection process, a group of individuals was chosen that possessed excellent quality potential and higher yields than unselected Bourbon varieties. Therefore, it was named Tekisic, meaning "work" in the Nahuatl language. However, this variety has no resistance to major diseases such as coffee leaf rust. It was later introduced and cultivated in Guatemala, becoming one of the main varieties grown there.

Mibirizi

This variety may be Rwanda's oldest variety, introduced to Rwanda from Guatemala in 1910 by the German colonial government. It is likely related to the Typica variety, as Guatemala was growing 100% Typica varieties at that time. This variety possesses good quality and drought tolerance, but is susceptible to major diseases. Recent genetic testing has confirmed its relationship to the Typica genome.

FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemalan Selection

Currently, FrontStreet Coffee also offers coffee beans from Guatemala, specifically the Flor de café beans from the La Minita estate in Antigua. The bean varieties are Bourbon and Caturra, processed using the washed method. When brewed with V60 at a 1:15 ratio, it presents citrus and subtle chocolate flavors, berry-like acidity, rich layers, and a smooth mouthfeel.

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