Description
There are not many places in this world like the Coban department in Guatemala. The farms we work with in Huehuetenango, Fraijanes or Antigua are generally hard to get to and way off the beaten trail, most in the USA would consider these farms incredibly rural and hard to get to, but to these farmers, it’s the Coban that is rural. Many areas in the Coban still do not have main road access, often considered cut off from the rest of Guatemala, the wild part, of a wild country. This is an amazing lot from a small holder co-op.
This lot comes from the Rabinal Coop in Chichupak, Coban. The community is only 100 kilometers from the region’s capital but it is not easy to reach, as it sits at the top of one of the highest peaks in the department of Baja Verapaz. You must pass through several villages, traveling on dirt roads, but once there, you are immersed in a different and magical world.
Chichupak members are very close to each other – most of them know each other for their entire lives. Faustín Chen is the leader, and together with Mario Sic, president of the association, works very hard to increase the quality of the production and as a consequence achieve better incomes. The community lives from their agriculture products; there are many small subsistence farms in the region. Coffee is one of their most important cash crops and their connection with the outside world.
The coffee production in the community is very traditional, but conducted with great care. Once the coffee is picked they take their coffee cherry to the coop’s mill where every member can access to depulpers, fermentation tanks, wash channels, African beds driers,
Tasting Notes: Light to dark you will find a tasty cup. Light roasting will have some acidity, tastes will start with a sweet citric/winy crispness upfront and balance out with a malty/nutty/caramel darker tone, a hint of soft fruit in the aftertaste. A lovely balance of tones and our favorite roast point. Medium roasts reduce the citric/winy tones and soft fruit, promoting a sweet edged malty/chocolate like taste. Increases the body and smoothness, but will reduce the depth of flavors a bit. If looking to impress, light roasts are where it shines. For daily drinking, medium roasts are the way to go. A candidate for dark roasts, fuller bodied, low acidity with the malty and roasty tones mix nicely.
Roasting Notes: Easy to roast, slightly two toned roasting with medium chaff levels. A fun bean to play around with roast levels, tasty and different across the roast spectrum. Setup is important especially at the lighter roasts, took about 3-4 days after roasting to hit its peak in taste. Recommend starting at whatever roast level you default too, if in doubt, would error lighter than darker to see it shine.
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