Guatemala - Santa Clara

The Flavour Profile

 This coffee has a light to medium body and is ideal for all type of extractions specially filter or cafetière . Its distinct notes of blackberry, maple syrup and cherry give it a unique flavour profile. It is a light medium roast coffee. 

The Little Details 

This coffee comes from Finca Santa Clara in Sacatepequez region, Antigua town in Guatemala. They're grown 1550 to 1890 metres above sea level and are fully washed and dried on Guatemalan patios. These coffee beans are 100% Pacamara.

About the Process

Every cherry on the farm i handpicked and then before being approved by the foreman for delivery to the wet mill. The farm also hires 'special pickers' who have demostrated particular dexterity and are selected to hand harvest some of the farm's microlots using impresive attention to details. These employees can receive more than double the minimum daily wages through picking coffee at the farm. Although they are demanding picking practices, people come back year after year , which is a testament to the fair treatment they receive.

As soon as the cherries arrive at the wet mill, they are sorted and floated to remove lower quality cherries. They are then pulped via machine and fermented in a tank of water for 12-14 hours to breakdown the exterior mucilage. Once the fermentation step is complete, the coffee is rushed through canals to remove any remaining mucilage or foreign matter before being evenly dispersed on patios or in green houses to dry in the sun for 12-25 days. As soon as the ideal moisture content is reached, the coffee is hulled and prepared for export.

For washed coffees, the process requires a heft amount of water. Santa Clara is careful with their scarce water resources, as Antigua experiences an extend dry season and water reserves are increasingly threatened by population growth and urbanization. Water that is used fermented coffee is recycle after having all solids removed and is reused during the depulping stage for the following lot to be processed. This has the added benefit of inoculating the next batch as it is pulped, which speeds fermentation times and helps maintain consistent mix of yeast and bacteria during fermentation. After is used twicw in this way, the water is filtered through a complez treatment system of filters and sedimentation tanks, with all solids being recycled and composted as fertiliser.