FrontStreet Coffee Presents: Guatemala Antigua Dome Estate Winery Natural Bourbon Specialty Coffee Flavor Profile

Wine-infused natural flavor profile: pineapple, muskmelon, dried apricot, candied lemon peel, Bordeaux wine, and green tea with cinnamon spice—overall rich in sweetness, with a full-bodied smoky plum aroma.

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee

Shelf Life: 30 days

Packaging: Whole beans

Taste Profile: Balanced

Bean State: Roasted

Origin: Guatemala

Variety: Bourbon

Roast Level: Medium

Guatemala Plan del Guayabo Estate

Country: Guatemala

Region: Antigua

Estate: Plan del Guayabo Estate

Producer: Mr. Benjamin Donado

Processing Method: Wine-infused natural

Variety: Bourbon

Altitude: 1675 meters

Flavor Notes: Pineapple, brandy, white wine

Guatemala

Guatemala is a land of volcanoes, and coffee grown in volcanic soil turns out rich and distinctive. The country's average altitude is high, so coffee trees live with large day-night temperature swings; that harsh rhythm lets the cherries ripen slowly on the tree, producing hard, dense beans with fuller, richer flavors.

Antigua

Rich volcanic soil, low humidity, abundant sunshine, and cool nights define the region. This valley is ringed by three volcanoes—Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango—whose eruptions keep Antigua's soil mineral-rich. Volcanic pumice retains moisture and offsets the region's low rainfall, while dense tree canopy shields the trees from occasional frost.

Characteristics: Rich wet aroma, good balance, high sweetness, an elegant and refined mouthfeel.

This newly arrived lot comes from Plan del Guayabo Estate in Antigua. As for Bourbon: in the eighteenth century the French planted seedlings on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, where the variety mutated. Bourbon beans are curved and slightly smaller-seeded, suited to high-altitude cultivation, and have become an important branch of the coffee family and a treasure of the specialty market. Bourbon's new young leaves are green, and the angle between young, fruitless branches and the trunk is narrow—about 45 degrees.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Natural-Process Coffees Worth Trying

Natural processing is the oldest and still the most widespread way to prepare coffee: ripe cherries are dried whole in the sun until they reach the target moisture, then hulled. Because the fruit dries intact around the bean, naturals show higher body and abundant ripe-fruit tones. The method demands weather—long runs of clear skies, typically 27-30 days of drying.

FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Red Cherry Natural: Ethiopia dries coffee on mesh racks thanks to its high altitude, dry climate, and scarce water. FrontStreet selects only fully ripe red cherries and dries them on raised beds, off the ground and away from insects, dust, and bacteria, turning them regularly for even drying. Medium-light roasted, it keeps its elegant florals and bright acidity while adding pronounced tropical fruit, a full fermentation feel, and rich sweetness.

FrontStreet Hua Kui Natural: the natural-process star. Extreme altitude, superb terroir, fertile soil, and hand-selected ripe fruit give Hua Kui its fine aromatics, amplified by Sidamo's classic natural method. Medium-light roasted: light fermentation, florals, citrus, and mango; honeyed sweetness, cocoa, and a touch of spice; thick body and a long finish.

FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan Natural Typica: grown on FrontStreet's own Yunnan estate, where only wet and dry seasons exist and harvest coincides with the sunnier months—hence natural processing. Long days in the sun emphasize the nuts, balance acidity and sweetness, and add a little more sweetness than a washed coffee: berry-like acidity with dried apricot, brown sugar, and a light tea feel.

FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate: Brazil favors pulped natural, but Queen Estate dries whole cherries on racks, turning them so every cherry meets the sun, then finishes mechanically to the target moisture. The beans are stable and keep well at low moisture. As pour-over, French press, or drip bags: sugarcane freshness, black tea, smooth fruit sweetness, clear nut flavors, balanced gentle acidity, faint clean bitterness, and rich chocolate—bright, smooth, and delicate.

FrontStreet Colombia Sidra: a double anaerobic natural—first carbonic maceration, then drying. Whole fresh cherries go into sealed tanks flooded with CO2 to drive out oxygen; the anaerobic environment slows sugar breakdown and pH decline in the mucilage, building higher sweetness, more complex flavor, and a dense texture. Dried on beds, then hulled. Expect intense tropical aroma with passion fruit, apricot, dried fruit, and grape, and an almond-like finish.