Guatemala Buena Vista from Huehuetenango
Historically, we probably buy just a little too much Guatemalan coffee to be good for us. It is a combination of the coffee quality being so good and also the synergy of human scale and small farms. Buena Vista is a relatively new farm to us at James Gourmet, as we have only been buying it since 2018. Buena Vista is a coffee that grows on you. This is a great cup to wake up with, as it really opens up as it cools.
Top Trumps
Farmer: Andres Godolfredo Cano and Maira Lopez
Farm: Buena Vista
Region: Huehuetenango
Varietal: Caturra
Process: Washed. (48 hours in fermentation tanks) and sundried on patios.
Elevation: 1650 Meters above sea level. (some 600 meters above the top of Ben Nevis if that helps?)
Rain Fall: 1.7 meters per annum, thankfully not all in one go.
Roast: Medium Filter
Brew recipe: 1:15 or 60g per litre
Cup potential:
Aromatics: Barley sugar| Body: Medium| Acidity: Plummy|
When hot, this is simply a sweet brew. The coffee was so sweet we had to recheck the roasts stats, for colour and time. After a few minutes as the drinking temperature nears, things open up. The previously shy caramelesque becomes plummy, with a super clean limey acidity. This is my idea of a dreamy easy-drinking filter coffee.
Farm Info
“My farm is located at the top of the mountains of San Antonio Huista, a place which takes 2 hours and 40 minutes walking to reach.” The clouds cover the place to such an extent that there are only 5 hours of sunlight per day at times. During the harvest season, Andres and Maira stay in a cabin higher up, and from there you see a spectacular view of the whole town of San Antonio Huista. This explains the name of this farm, ‘Good View”.
Andres used to live in San Martin Concepción Huista, working as a vegetable producer. However, he always had the idea of producing coffee in his mind. About ten years ago, he decided to sell his land and everything he had and move to a more suitable region for coffee production. When he bought his farm it was abandoned, but he directly started to change and modify it in the way he liked. A dream has come true he says. “Coffee is my passion and is part of my life, and I do not mind investing in it so to see my plants healthy. I want to continue working in coffee and hope to inspire the next generation”.
