Guatemala Huehuetenango Buenos Aires Bourbon Natural
Captain's Gold top 3! This bourbon microlot was hand selected from smallholder farms and features Huehuetenango coffee at it's most vibrant. It's got refreshing acidity in the form of wild blackberries, raspberries and limeaid along with subtle floral notes thanks to the bourbon. The local terroir shines through with excellent body, creamy texture and rich caramel sweetness.
Huehuetenango is where we’ve always sourced bold powerhouse coffees. When fully washed, they’re rich, buttery and perfect for that typical breakfast cup. So when a natural processed came along, we knew we had to try it! This bourbon microlot was hand selected for natural processing and keeps the “oomph” we know and love from Huehuetenango coffee while adding a fruity and floral twist.
The first thing that surprised me about this cup is how refreshingly bright it is! Think wild blackberries, fresh raspberries and limeaid. Just a touch tangy but balanced with juicy sweetness. Thanks to the bourbon variety, there’s also some lovely florals at lighter roasts which I noted as honeysuckle. As mentioned, the Huehuetenango source comes through in excellent body and creamy texture as well as caramel and cane sugar sweetness. This coffee is delightful fresh brewed but would make a great cold brew and even works surprisingly well with milk if that’s your thing!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: August 1st, 2024. Harvest Season: 2023-2024
Acidity & Brightness: Refreshingly bright and sweet.
Balance & Finish: Slightly complex with a lingering, pleasant finish
Body & Texture: Full body and creamy texture
Flavors: Fresh raspberry, blackberry, limeaid, cane syrup and florals
Grade: SHB EP, grown at 1,300 – 2,000 masl
Processing: Natural (dry) processed and dried on raised beds
Grower: Smallholder farms | Asociación de Apicultores y Caficultores de Union Cantinil (AAPICUC)
Region: Union Cantinil, Buenos Aires, Huehuetenango, Guatemala
Varieties: Bourbon
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Full City+ (light-medium to medium-dark)
We like this coffee best at a light-medium roast or as 1st crack is trailing off. At that roast level we noted the best balance between the sweet fruit and berry notes along with refreshing acidity and rich caramels. Take your roast darker into Full Medium (after 1st crack ends but before 2nd crack begins) if you want to lower the acidity and bring out more body and rich caramel. Take it as dark as the first few snaps of 2nd crack, but expect to lose much of the subtle fruit notes in exchange for more toffee and candy notes.
Sucafina - "Asociacion de Apicultores y Caficultores de Union Cantinil (AAPICUC) was founded in 2011 to help producers cultivate organic coffee in an environmentally-sustainable way. Members cultivate coffee on small farms, about 3 hectares on average at high altitudes between 1,300 and 2,000 meters above sea level.
AAPICUC members are both coffee producers and beekeepers. In fact, beekeeping works in tandem with coffee production. Coffee trees are self-pollinating, meaning they do not need bees or birds to help them pollinate but, bees can help increase total production by as much as 20 to 25%."
