Guatemalan Premium Huehuetenango – Finca El Apiario – El Gorioncillo Lot

Description

A super cool farm and cup! The farm is located right next to Finca Vista Hermosa, and the cup profile is fairly similar.

Owned by Jorge Mendez, he started as a picker in farms in the San Pedro Necta. He saved money with his wife until he had Q500 to buy a small piece of land down by the PanAmerican highway. About 14 km away, and closer to civilization, Jorge learned the value of coffee; how to buy and sell, quality metrics, and how to grow quality coffees. He sold his property and moved back up the mountain to be back in Agua Dulce.

Here he bought two small parcels and worked the land. Someone told him that having two farms apart was a waste of time so he bought the first lot where El Apiario currently is. At first coffee wouldn’t grow at this elevation and he grew corn while trying many different kinds of coffees. Finally, he discovered how to grow coffees at this altitude and continued to work on quality.

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.