Guatemalan Premium Huehue. Finca El Rancho

Description

Gilberto and Gabino Mendez, along with their nephew Francisco, work an entire mountainside side of a mountain in remote Northwest Huehuetenango. While working in coffee alongside family members is not rare in Guatemala, the depth of collaboration and transparency with which they partner is remarkable. Year after year, they share successes and misses, working together to make each other’s lots thrive. They operate like a co-op, each member making their contributions.

Of the three, Gabino is focused most on quality improvements, so he travels to Guatemala City to take courses at Anacafe, learning about innovations in varieties and processing. Recently, he implemented his learning by lengthening the washing channels on their central wet mill to improve processing, and this year’s crop showcases brighter, crisper profiles as a result. Another example is shade: Gabino utilizes mostly Chalum shade, as Gravilea trees make the soil more acidic. Chalum leaves biodegrade four times faster than Gravilea leaves, and he and his sons are monitoring the longer-term soil impacts as a result. Francisco Florencio supports his uncles with the water from his ground springs, and Gilberto makes structural improvements around the farm. Gabino’s sons have also studied soil science, and support with soil analysis and fertilizer on each lot. The result is that each lot improves significantly and all family members benefit.

Tasting Notes: A great cup of Guatemalan, a bit lower acidity than most, a real sweet edge to this cup. We thought it best in the medium to dark roast range. Light roasts are sweet upfront but do not develop the creamy malty notes one expects from a nice Huehue. Medium roasts have a  nice sugary sweetness upfront, medium bodied, low acidity with more of a creamy malty tone that lingers on the tongue. Although the sweetness hits right upfront, the tastes fade into a more dry and complex malty tone. Very smooth and drinkable at the medium roast level but may be too mild for some. The beans hold a dark roast very nicely, touching 2nd crack did not introduce too much smoky or roasty tones, still sweet but much stronger, hints of a winy floral aspect mixing with darker chocolate and malty-ness.

Roasting Notes: A nice medium roasts presents this cup at its best – lighter roasts give a bit more crispness but lacked darker tone balance. Medium roasts have the best balance and will make anyone happy. Dark roasts will get a bit stronger without being a roasty smoke bomb, which many will love as well.