Plan del Guayabo GUATEMALA
tropical fruits ∙ hibiscus ∙ cola
This surprising Guatemalan coffee came out on top of last year’s regional competition organized by the Third Wave Coffee Source. It consists of wet processed Red Bourbon and Caturra varieties coming from a volcanic soil.
B
y some quirk of fate we have fallen in love with Plan del Guayabo because it’s so unlike a typical Guatemalan coffee. Plan del Guayabo is clean and intensive and we can pick out hints of black cherry, tropical fruit, hibiscus and cola. Finca Plan del Guayabo is in the south of Guatemala, in Nuevo Oriente, which is the smallest coffee growing region in the country. This part of Guatemala is wet and cloudy, but this 35 hectare area has a rich, volcanic soil. The farm was started only in 1990, because its clayey, stony soil had been considered less than ideal for coffee growing, coupled with the relatively high altitude of 1700 metres and the steepness of the land. The young Benjamin Donado, however, took the risk and established his farm naming it Plan del Guayabo, the plains of Guayabo. He did not fell the guava trees indigenous to the area so as to protect his coffee bushes from direct sunlight. The soil once deemed inferior leaves its distinctive mark on the flavour of the coffee. In the past Benjamin most often sold his coffee to coyotes (medium-sized coffee traders), who mix all the coffee they manage to buy up from various growers
and sell it in bulk as a lower-grade coffee, sometimes in the quantity of 10 000 kilos a year. As he gained more and more expertise throughout the years, the quality of Benjamin’s coffee improved considerably and now he can sell his harvest to quality-oriented small traders. On last year’s cupping competition organized by Third Wave Coffee Source, Benjamin’s coffee grown on Finca Plan del Guayabo came out on top. The Red Bourbon and Caturra varieties in our coffee are usually selectively picked in March, which means that only ripe cherries are harvested. The cherries are processed with wet method, fermented for 48 hours and then sundried. The coffee is later packed into 8-ply plastic bags to keep it fresh.
... To achieve the best taste experience possible use soft water and freshly ground coffee. Let it rest for a week after roasting but consume it within one month. Enjoy! the Casino Mocca team
casinomocca.hu