Guatemala Finca Los Conejos Hot Anaerobic
This unique coffee provides a fresh perspective on Guatemalan coffee. The process is called Hot Anaerobic because the temperature of the cherries are very carefully controlled during it's long fermentation. This leads to a cup that is clean and bright with a delightfully dry finish and no fermenty flavors. We also noted lemon meringue, peach, cane syrup and just a dash of coriander.
You’ve heard of anaerobic processing before, but how about HOT anaerobic? Is that anything like hot yoga? Thankfully, no! Anaerobic just means “without the presence of oxygen” which only controls for that one variable during fermentation. At Finca Los Conejos in Santa Rosa de Lima, they take it a step farther by controlling temperature as well. Using high end fermentation tanks that would look right at home in an upscale microbrewery, they are able to carefully monitor and adjust the temperature throughout the process. Once the coffee meets their exacting parameters, they finish with a full wash and careful shade drying to preserve the cleanliness of the cup.
The result is one of the cleanest and most balanced cups we’ve ever had from Guatemala. While not winey or fermenty in flavor, it’s got a distinctly dry finish that reminds me of a chilled white wine. We also noted stone fruit like peach and nectarine along with a super smooth lemon meringue acidity. It’s fairly sweet with a raw cane syrup vibe and just a hint of baking spice which reminded us of dried coriander seed. All told, it’s a really unique take on Guatemalan coffee that makes for a very tasty cup!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: April 4th, 2025. Harvest season: 2022-2023, vacuum sealed in high barrier foil.
Acidity & Brightness: Fairly bright and fairly sweet
Balance & Finish: Fairly balanced with a warm, lingering finish
Body & Texture: Full body with a silky to creamy texture
Flavors: Peach, lemon meringue, sugar cane & coriander
Grade: SHB EP, grown at 1500-1600 masl
Processing: Fermented in temperature controlled anaerobic tanks until brix 20-23, then fully washed and shade dried on racks until 10.7 to 11% moisture
Grower: Finca Los Conejos
Region: Santa Rosa de Lima, Santa Rosa, Guatemala
Varieties: Yellow bourbon & Mundo Novo
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Full City+ (light-medium to medium-dark)
Most folks will enjoy this coffee best at Light-medium to medium where the florality and acidity can really shine. If you want to get more rounded sweetness and balance out of your cup, push to the darker end of medium. We don’t recommend going past 2nd crack since this coffee was so carefully processed and you’ll lose that at darker roast levels.
Finca Los Conejos - "Finca Los Conejos is being developed under a concept of several layers of plant and animal crops. Three plant layers (pine forest, coffee planting and plaid covers) and two layers of animals (bees and goats/chickens) are defined. The concept of Multilayer Agricultural Cultivation improves the overall productivity of the farm.
Finca Los Conejos competes with Special Cafes and Innovative High Quality of Anaerobic fermentations, with 4 varieties selected for their cup quality: Red Geisha, Yellow Bourbon, Red Pacamara and Mundo Novo Rojo.
We experiment with controlled fermentation processes, at different temperatures, pressures and variations in time, guaranteeing procedures without the presence of oxygen, in order to achieve better characteristics in cup. After cutting the mature coffee (which must have a brix indicator between 20-23), the coffee is deposited in the drying beds. The amount of coffee per bed has been studied to avoid fermentation and mold formation during the process. Our drying houses are made of cypress wood, with cement floor and ceiling of polycarbonate bronze sheets. To improve temperature and relative humidity control, folding curtains and temperature/humidity logger data were installed.”
