(5 = Extraordinary to 1= Satisfactory)

ACIDITY 4 BODY 4 AROMA 4 COMPLEXITY 4 BALANCE 5 SPICEY CHOCOLATEY CARAMELLY - NUTTY BUTTERY - FRUITY - FLOWERY WINEY - EARTHY -

The highlands of Guatemala produce several of the world's finest and most distinctive coffees. The mountain basin surrounding the austerely beautiful colonial city Guatemala Antigua produces the most distinguished of these highland coffees: Guatemala Antigua, a coffee that combines complex nuance (smoke, spice, flowers, occasionally chocolate) with acidity ranging from gently bright to quite powerful.

Other Guatemala coffees, perhaps because they are more exposed to wet ocean weather than the mountain-protected Antigua basin, tend to display slightly softer, often less powerful, but equally complex profiles. These softer Guatemalas include Cobán, admired for its fullish body and gentle, deep, rounded profile, Huehuetenango from the Caribbean-facing slopes of the central mountain range, and San Marcos coffees from the Pacific-facing slopes. Coffees from the basin surrounding Lake Atitlan in south central Guatemala typically offer the same complex characteristics as Antiguas but are lighter in body and brighter in flavor.

Most Guatemala coffee is grown in shade, ranging from rigorously managed shade on large farms to the serendipitous thickets of small growers.

Deep, bittersweet chocolate flavor. It has great aroma and a full, yet mellow-body.

One of our favorites: This one should definitely be on the "gotta have" for your cellar list! Don't miss out on this goody!

Roast: Full City to Full City+ and maybe a bit darker, but don't go too dark because it just doesn't need to be. Although you can roast to press as an espresso, it makes a FABULOUS lighter brew that you can enjoy by the cup--or pot!

Archive Photo

Click here for addtional info on this origin