Guatemalan Premium Huehue – El Zapote y Anexos – AnaCafe Winning Lot

With our buddy Edwins help, we won two awesome lots from the “One Of A Kind” AnaCafe Auction. Top notch unique lots from stellar farms. Super highly rated cups with a unique spin.

A wonderfully complex “submerged fermentation” washed processed lot. Kind of the Guatemalan equivalent of the carbonic maceration we have seen out of Panama. Specialty yeast added to the controlled fermentation creates a one of a kind stellar cup of coffee.

Tasting Notes:
Very clean fun coffee. Best served at the light to medium roast level, this cup is very full bodied with buzzy acidity (acidic but not citric) and some seriously complex darker tones. We have had a couple other coffee like this before but its hard to describe, these tastes tend to only come out with very boutique controlled fermentation, which usually are natural processed, not fully washed like this one. Even at light roasts you get a clean and complex malty and smoky tone, semi-sweet that fades into tasty layers of spice.  Pulls some tones lighter roasted that one usually would only see with darker roasts, instead of being ashy and roasty, they are delicate and crisp.  The aromatics help balance out the cup and are pretty floral and sweet.

Roasting Notes:
Easy to roast but similar to the other stellar Guats, beans darken up quickly, almost looks like a strong medium roast when hitting 1st crack, can be a little deceptive. So make sure to watch for that expansion in size to mark the lighter roast levels. Even roasting with medium to low chaff.

Farm Bio:
In a little region named Agua Dulce, Cuilco, near Mexico’s border representing one of the most important coffee zones in Huehuetenango known as a Highland Huehue, is located El Zapote & Anexos (348 km from Guatemala City).

The coffee plantations are sown in an altitude that goes around 1,500 to 1,900 masl. The weather is between 18 to 22 Celsius degrees. Having around 1,500 to 2,000 mm of rainfall each year. Surrounded with mountainous terrain, and blessed with different microclimates that has allowed different coffee varieties growing in the perfect weather.

History:
Not so long ago, in the late 1950´s El Zapote & Anexos farm was acquired by the Pérez Family, the production of green coffee was around 20 qq (9,071 kg). At the beginning we only had Typica Coffee, in 1960 we started introducing new varieties like Red Bourbon and Red Caturra.

Through the year´s passed the coffee farm continue expanding and increasing the coffee production combining environmentally friendly farming practices and focusing on human collaboration benefiting people and communities, giving us the result of high quality coffee.

Now days are called El Zapote & Anexos, having 80 (ha) of territorial extension with coffee plantations sown, and distributed with our varieties: (40%) Red Catuaí, (25%) Red Caturra and the rest are Red Bourbon, Yellow Catuaí, Villa Sarchí, Geisha, Pacamara and Java.

Tradition:
These days El Zapote & Anexos farm is work by the fourth (Wilfrido Pérez) and fifth (Hernán Pérez) generation of the Pérez Family. We are a leader company in production and marketing of specialty coffee, dealing with big challenges like adapting diferent varieties to the soil and weather condition.

Our family tradition established a compromised of excellent strict quality controls starting with the seed to the cup. We have created our own production proceses and constanst innovation and constant reasearch to improve our production and quality cups, all of these with enviromentally friendly practicing farms and giving and improving the quality of our peolples lives.

Harvest Season:
The fair distribution of the rain throughout the year is excelent for the bean development. Our harvest season last 4 months starting in January and ending in April.

Sustainability:
Environmental: The sustainability has to be seen as an ethical behavior and fundamental factor to keep the quality and production of our coffee reducing the impact on the environment.

Social: We believe through a fair payment our collaborators we could increase the productivity, keep the quality and improve living conditions of the family’s Social environment. We are compromised to improve the life conditions of our collaborators.

Certifications:
Rainforest Alliance
C.A.F.E. Practices

Awards:
Cup of Excellence ®
7th. Place Cup of Excellence® Guatemala 2021
20th. Place Cup of Excellence® Guatemala 2020
16th. Place Cup of Excellence® Guatemala 2019
2nd. Place Cup of Excellence® (Presidential Mention) Guatemala 2018

One Of A Kind Guatemala ®
8th. Place One Of A Kind® Guatemala 2021 – These are the award winning beans!

Regional Competition Highland Huehue ®
Top 10 Highland Huehue 2021
Top 10 Highland Huehue 2020
2nd. Place Highland Huehue 2019
Top 10 Highland Huehue 2018
2nd. Place Highland Huehue 2017
Top 10 Highland Huehue 2016
3rd. Place Highland Huehue 2015
Top 10 Highland Huehue 2014

Regional Competition Highland Huehue ® Category: Processes
Top 10 Highland Huehue Category: Processes 2021
Top 10 Highland Huehue Category: Processes 2020
1st. Place Highland Huehue Category: Processes 2019
1st. Place Highland Huehue Category: Processes 2018

Regional Competition Highland Huehue ® Category: Other Specials

2nd. Place Highland Huehue Category: Other Specials 2021

Coffee and cupping details: