Guatemalan Premium El Quiche – Finca La Perla

Description

A tasty Guatemalan from a farm that lives famously in my mind due to a very entertaining TV episode of Dangerous Grounds. Although we have a bunch of super cool Guatemalan farms we work directly with, when a friend of mine said he was working with Finca La Perla and had a couple of extra bags, I couldn’t help but to jump on them, great tasting coffee from an awesome operation. If you haven’t seen the episode of Dangerous Grounds featuring this farm, if may be worth tracking it down.

An isolated farm located in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. La Perla was founded in 1895 by the Arenas Family and is located in the La Quiche department of Guatemala. La Quiche was one of the most affected regions during the Guatemalan Civil War, and La Perla is remembered for supporting Guatemala’s indigenous population during this time (similarly to our buddies @ Finca Vista Hermosa). The Arenas brothers are still active in the movement for social and economic development for workers in Guatemala. They support neighboring towns through health and social projects and implementing free enterprise working environments in the region.

Tasting Notes: A nice clean, rich, and versatile coffee. Lighter roasting will come off clean and winy like a good Guatemalan should. A little higher acidity than average, balanced with some developing malt like tones. A bit acidic light roasted but easy to enjoy if you classically like lighter roasts. Blooms into a more traditional Guat. chocolaty cup as you push into the medium to dark roast levels. The darker you go the less winy and acidic the cup will taste. Around a medium roast, the perceived acidity drops and creates a rich, fuller bodied,  chocolaty cup with a smooth and sweet edge. A hint of floral mixing it to keep it crisp.  Dark roasts into second crack will work for you dark roast fans, a bit more stout like with low acidity with semi-sweet smoky/chocolate like notes.

Roasting Notes: Easy to roast and good from light to dark. Slightly mottled in appearance at the light roast points, when it loses this mottling, a good indicator of a nice medium roast. Medium to low chaff. Setup will definitely smooth out the cup, a bit sharp if you drink it too soon.