Our first Guatemalan coffee this year is from the Mendez sisters and is perfect for the chilly autumn weather.
The Farm / Processing station:
Sisters Juana and Minga Mendez are 4th-generation coffee growers who have lived and farmed in Chichimes in Huehuetenango for most of their lives. In 2010, the sisters were the first female producers to work with Rosma Coffeelands to promote their coffees. Since then, they’ve been successfully exporting their coffees under their own name and receiving fair prices that enable them to reinvest in their farm.
Huehuetenango is well-known for its high altitude and consistent weather patterns. The region lies at a nexus of hot air sweeping eastwards from the Plains of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico and cool air rushing down from the Cuchumantanes Mountains. The meeting of this hot and cold air creates a microclimate that keeps frost in check and enables coffee cultivation at higher altitudes. Coffee production at 2,000 meters above sea level here is common. These conditions are perfect for producing the sparkling acidity and distinctive fruit flavors of the region.
Variety:
Bourbon is the most famous of the Bourbon-descended varieties. It is a tall variety characterized by relatively low production, susceptibility to the major diseases, and excellent cup quality. French missionaries introduced Bourbon from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now La Réunion)—giving it the name it has today—in the early 1700s. Until the mid-19th century, Bourbon did not leave the island. But beginning in the mid-1800s, the variety spread to new parts of the world as the missionaries moved to establish footholds in Africa and the Americas. The Bourbon variety was introduced to Brazil around 1860, and from there rapidly spread north into other parts of South and Central America, where it is still cultivated today. Here it became mixed with other Bourbon-related varieties, introduced from India as well as Ethiopian landraces. Nowadays, there are many Bourbon-like varieties found in East Africa, but none exactly match the distinct Bourbon variety that can be found in Latin America. Today in Latin America, Bourbon itself has largely been replaced by varieties that descend from it (notably including Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo)
Processing:
Juana and Minga selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and process it on their farm. They lay cherry to dry on patios. They rake cherry every hour to ensure even drying and cover it at night to prevent condensation. Once dry, cherry is bagged and stored in a mill in Huehuetenango, where the cool weather and low humidity is ideal for storing coffees. Coffee rests for about 3 months before being milled and prepared for export.
Our baristas notes:
The natural is very pleasant in the coffee and creates that nice chocolate and rumy taste. At the same time the coffee is beautifully clean. The grind is nothing special. At higher temperatures the coffee is very sweet and the fruitiness is obscured. As it cools down the fruitiness comes to the fore. At all temperatures there is a pleasant taste of chocolate and rum and at cooler temperatures it is beautifully complemented by notes of strawberries and candied fruit. The coffee has a medium body and a little acidity at all temperatures.
Recommended recipe on V60:
95 °C water
300ml water
20g coffee
690 microns on grind (23 clicks per comandante)
0:00 40ml water
0:35 110 ml water
1:15 75ml water
2:00 75 ml water
total brew time between 2:40 – 2:50
