Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Single Origin - Guatemala
- Country: Guatemala
- Region: Cuilco, Colotenango, Santa Bárbara, San Sebastián Huehuetenango, Sipacapa, San Antonio Huista, Unión Cantinil, San Pedro Necta, Todos Santos, Concepción Huista, San Marcos
- Farm: Women smallholder farmers of ASPROCDEGUA
- Variety: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Pache
- Altitude: 1600–2200 masl
- Process/Method: Washed
Asociación de Productores de Café Diferenciados y Especiales de Guatemala (ASPROCDEGUA) Co- operative
comprises of 664 contributing members.
Each producing members farm, averages 2 hectares each. They plant coffee as well as other crops for diversification, including bananas, citrus fruit like oranges and lemons, avocado, guava, and cassava.
The organization offers its members access to technical assistance, and routinely provides services such as soil analysis, test farms, and social projects based on food security, education, and nutrition.
The smallholders of ASPROCDEGUA are from several different municipalities within the area.
The women’s association is not a formal sub–co-op, but the premium earned for their Women Coffee Producers lots goes toward organic fertilizer distribution to the women farmers, among other benefits. In 2020, the premium was used to purchase dairy cows for the women, which were distributed to both augment their household nutrition and to give them better access to organic matter from which to make their own organic compost.
Flavour Notes: Rich and smooth with berry, chocolate, praline, caramel and lemon.
GUATEMALA OVERVIEW
General Information
Coffee arrived in Guatemala in the late 18th century. Cultivation gained momentum in the 1860s, with the arrival of European immigrants who were encouraged by the Guatemalan government to establish plantations.
By the late 1800s, Guatemala was exporting more nearly 300 million pounds of coffee annually. Until 2011, it was among the five largest coffee-producing countries in the world, though in recent years it has been outperformed by Honduras.
A large percentage of Guatemala’s population, and therefore also the coffee sector, identifies with one of more than 20 officially recognized indigenous groups. Most of the farmers are smallholders who are either working independently of one another, loosely associated by proximity and cultural ties, or formally affiliated in cooperative associations.
Despite its relatively small size, Guatemala’s coffee-producing regions have distinct regional profiles that are influenced primarily by varieties and microclimate.
For example:
NTIGUA - has farms mostly between 1300–1600 meters, many situated on one of the 3 main volcanoes. The region is sunnier and dryer than elsewhere. The coffees are sweet, smooth, good for blending or as mild, lower-acid single-origin offerings.
ATITLAN - has very rich soil composition thanks to the volcanoes. A windy, wet climate contributes to the nutty, chocolate, lemon acid notes with some florals.
NUEVO ORIENTE - a small region to the eastern edge of the country, bordering Honduras. Its climate is cloudier and rainier than some of the other regions. Relatively stable temperatures and limited sunlight create a full-bodied, balanced coffee.
HUEHUETENANGO is probably the most famous (and difficult to pronounce—it is generally said “way-way-ten-AN-go”) region, and has the highest altitudes in the country, as high as 2,000 meters. Crisp malic and citrus acidity, full body, and toffee sweetness mark these coffees, which tend to be the most fruit-forward and can be the most complex of what Guatemala has to offer.