Origin of the Month

This month’s origin comes to us from a tiny town in the Baja Verapaz department of Guatemala called Cubulco. A vast majority of the people living here are descended from the original inhabitants of this place, the Achi Mayan. The altitudes here range from 5,249 to 5,905 feet above sea level and small family farms dot the highlands throughout. Most of these small farms use traditional farming methods to ensure they grow the best coffee for you.

The farms that contributed to this lot are Las Anonas, Las Naranjas, La Esperanza, Grano de Oro, Finca Las Piedras and several other small farms. The SHB/EP in the name of this coffee stands for Strictly Hard Bean/European Preparation. Strictly Hard Bean simply indicates that the coffee was grown at high altitudes, where the cherries mature slowly, which results in a flavorful, deep coffee.

The European Preparation is a certification indicating that these beans were sorted multiple times, eliminating lower quality beans each time. It is a standard set by European buyers. The EP certification indicates the highest quality standard and makes EP certified beans highly sought after by coffee buyers.

There are multiple varietals of arabica coffee tree in this lot. We have brought you Catui, Bourbon, and Caturra varietals before, but this lot includes three varietals we have not brought you, until now.
These are Pache-San, Ramon, and Sarchimor. The Catui and Caturra are both shorter, more compact trees common throughout this part of the coffee world. The smaller, more compact trees mean that farmers can grow more of them in a smaller space, which leads to high yields.

The Bourbon varietal is a taller tree, with lower yields, but is prized for the high-quality beans produced. The Pache-San varietal is another compact tree, known for its large, high-quality, but lower yield producing beans.

The Sarchimor varietal is a dwarf tree known for producing very good beans.

Guatemalan coffees are grown in rich volcanic soil, mountainous terrain, and perfect climate. Centuries of coffee farming here have brought the country to the forefront of the specialty coffee
world. Coffee lovers all over the world are delighted with Guatemalan coffees, especially the washed process coffees, for the deep, flavorful profiles. Washed process coffees tend to bring out the true nature of the coffee.

This is an excellent coffee you are sure to enjoy. It is a medium-bodied coffee with medium acidity. While sipping this gem you may detect notes of cocoa powder, granola, toasted almond, and citrus.