Here it is! The first single farm, micro-lot of the 2021 crop as espresso. Fresh, vibrant new crop coffees remind us so much of what this job is about and Guatemala is a heavyweight on so many levels.
Top Trumps
Varietals: Caturra, Bourbon, Villa Sachi
Process: Fully washed
Altitudes:15-1600 Meters above sea level.
Size of Finca: 1.1 Hectare
Farmer: Epifanio Reyes Hernandez Lopez
Nearest town: San Antonio Huista, Aldea El Coyegual
Area: Huehuetenango
Country: Guatemala
Roast: Between Developed filter-Traditional Espresso
Cup potential.
Complex and intriguing espresso.
|Aromatics: Savoury and tart. |Body: Medium |Acidity; Sweet and Citric|
On the front end, this coffee (for me) in espresso is surprisingly gentle and sweet. In the middle of the espresso, there is a mixture of almond-like nuttiness, dark chocolate and citrus peel. The last third gives such a sweet mouthful of grapefruit and all of the other elements pulling together, that lingers beautifully.
In 5-6oz, the citrus cuts through the milk in a flat-white, with chocolate and lots of lactic sugars: toffee, shortbread etc. As you increase the cup size, unsurprisingly less fruit comes through, unless you reduce fat in your milk.
Current recipe: 17g in 45g espresso out. 24-38 seconds.
Due to the nature of high altitude fresh crop coffee, a combination of (quite) light roasting makes this oddly extractable. I have had some really nice shots between 24 and 38 seconds! That is one wide range!
The lighter roast and longer (in liquid terms) make this a medium-bodied espresso, at most.
Back story:
Named after the farm’s ancient cedar tree, El Cedro is a second-generation coffee plantation. Years ago, farmers used to grow coffee for their own consumption, as much as for a serious crop. Epifanio has propagated his plants from mature 60-year-old (plus specimens) and is slowly building new areas, driven by quality.
In Epifanio’s words: “Coffee has allowed me to raise my family and producing coffee is part of how we live our lives. During all these years we have had to adapt to different situations and obstacles. In the past we did not care about quality, we simply wanted to produce and sell. Today we want to seek better prices and that is why we are focused on improving the quality.”
