Description
We have been friends with the award winning Finca Vista Hermosa almost as long as we have been working in coffee. The background of the farm, the meticulous growing and processing practices, the empowerment of the workers (and their neighbors) is all top notch. The farm has been in the family for three generations and is one of the few that survived the Guatemalan revolution, not by luck, but because of how they treated their workers and the respect they have gained in the Mayan community.
This community takes us back to the early days of working with Edwin. For so long he has switched to single field, single strain, single pick lots, really the way boutique farming has gone (which is not a bad thing). We used to love the farm blends he created though. They ran a batch with the tail ends of his picks and also reached out to his neighbors, essentially re-creating a classic for us, a perfect mix of screens and fields to create a wonderfully balanced and well rounded cup of coffee, showing the true flavor profile of the farm and area.
Tasting Notes: A tasty mix of tones, good from light to dark! The cup profile is mostly down the malty side but these beans have some awesome more winy and floral jazz accompanying it. Lighter roasting will show some more winy citric attributes and soft fruit tones, adds some great sweetness to the cup, hints of a nutty and malty undertone can be found but a little faint. Medium roasts really pull together a tasty treat, sweet hints of floral mixing with smooth nutty malty features. A cup we are more than willing to drink all day. Dark roasts lose the smoother cup but really accentuate the dark malt tone. Guatemalans almost always hold dark roasts nicely for adding a little sweet malty note to the smoky and roasty tones is a tasty mix.
Roasting Notes: Easy to roast, you can see a little variance in color but it is small, putting this in the easy to roast category. Medium to low chaff. If you do not have a personal roast level preference, try it first at a nice medium roast. Setup is critical to getting a smooth and defined cup, day 1-2 after roasting still a little edgy, day 3 was clean as a whistle.
More Info:
FVH is a model farm. Edwin Jr. (third generation) is renowned for his consultant work on the ground in Huehuetenango. If a new farm works with him for a couple of years, its bound to be seen on the COE winning list. Okay maybe I am talking him up a bit too much but over the 15+ years we have been working with him, we have seen it spawn so many award winning coffees and operations including another one of our favorites, Finca De Dios. All of this success is modeled after his own farm, FVH.
You can read about Finca Vista Hermosa and view more pictures here: Our Trip to Guatemala
Edwin’s farm has won the cup of excellence in previous years and also has been used by Anacafe for the perfect example of what a Huehue. can be.
The original Mayan managed farm and one of the few farms to survive the Guatemalan Revolution. Although this is a farm, if you ever went there – it is more of a village than a traditional farm like we have here. Edwin and his family have very little to do with the actual operations of the farm, its all done by the village. The Guatemalan government really does not extend out to the rural areas so it is up to Edwin and his family to help build roads, schools, doctor clinics, give housing loans and take care of any emergency that may arise – I can attest to the fact that they do a fantastic job.
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