Guava Bliss – Guatemala

This Coffee: Has a big deeply fruited fragrance, guava gummy candy (colochos de guayaba), red fruit punch, grape juice finish.

The Producers are : José Arnoldo Perez & Maria Eugenia Escobar

Finca La Senda

Variety: Bourbon

Process : Natural Anaerobic

Region : Acatenango, Chimaltenango

Origin: Guatemala

José Arnoldo Perez & Maria Eugenia Escobar Finca La Senda In the early 1940s, Arnoldo Pérez Melendez’s father began cultivating coffee in the volcanic soils surrounding Aldea El Socorro in Acatenango. The Finca sweeps dramatically up a mountainside, from the edge of Aldea El Socorro up to mount Balám, or “Hill of the Jaguar” in the indigenous language. Coffee trees stand between 1600 and 1970 MASL, while higher parts of the mountain are preserved as native forest. 24.5 hectares of land are devoted to coffee cultivation, separated into 8 lots by variety, altitude, and shade tree type. While many farms hire migrant seasonal labor, La Senda invests heavily in the local community, drawing its 14 year-round employees and 45-70 harvest-season employees from the local village. Until recently, all of the work on Finca La Senda was focused on farming for a cooperative price. 100% of export grade cherry was delivered to the local cooperative until 2017, when the unexpected visit from a coffee consultant would dramatically shift the family’s approach to coffee. Blind tastings uncovered the potential of coffees from the farm, and the consultant encouraged Arnoldo to build his own beneficio, which he did quickly and enthusiastically, along with raised drying beds with shade canopies, The harvest of 2018, the family focused on training for consistent ripe cherry selection, controlled fermentation, and long, slow shade drying. As they evaluated first fruits and cupped with friends and partners, the results were unmistakable. So much was learned in just a couple of harvest cycles, and soon La Senda would gain recognition in both regional and international competitions. Traditional varieties cultivated at the Finca include 65% Caturra, 25% Bourbon, and 10% Typica, all harvested between late November and March. Due to the steep terrain on the farm, higher lots might be picked through late March. Volcan de Fuego looms over the land just 15km away, increasing shade and cloud coverage during the day, and providing gentle wind streams for a temperate climate and slow cherry maturation. The rich volcanic soils make for ideal growing conditions for these traditional varieties. Arnoldo and Maria are proud of the biodiversity represented on the farm, naming a wide variety of trees throughout the farm and nature reserve: fruit trees like avocado, banana, orange, loquat, and guava; shade trees like guachipilín, gravilea, cuchín, and copalchí; mature pines and cedars attract a large variety of bird species. Washed coffees from La Senda typify crisp, clean Acatenango profiles, with solid body and zippy stone fruit character. Over these past couple of years La Senda has become renowned for prolonged fermentation cycles and experimental processes, and these create complex, layered profiles. Arnoldo describes these profiles excitedly, listing notes like grape, berry, jasmine, tamarind, blackcurrant, ripe tropical fruit, with sugary-sweet juiciness. We agree. This year, three offer samples leapt off a generous table of La Senda nano-lots, all three of them remarkably honey processes. Here’s what we picked up: La Senda Red Honey Variety: Caturra Lot: Copalchí Process: anaerobic-honey Fermentation & washing: 24 hours aerobic soak in ripe full cherry, then 72 hours anaerobic in full cherry, then de-pulping, followed by 12 hours in cold oxidation & 20 hours of hot oxidation Drying: turning on raised African beds beneath shade mesh for 25 days La Senda Tropical Honey Variety: Caturra Lot: Aguacatales Process: extended anaerobic-honey Fermentation: 24 hours aerobic soak in ripe full cherry, followed by 105 hours anaerobic in full cherry, de-pulping, then 15 hours of cold oxidation & 22 hours of hot oxidation Drying: turning on raised African beds beneath shade mesh for 25 days La Senda Funkytown Variety: Caturra Lot: Nisperales Process: double carbonic maceration honey Fermentation: ripe cherry selection, 24 hour aerobic in full cherry, 120 hours anaerobic with added CO2, de-pulping, 240 hours anaerobic (no CO2), total fermentation time 360 hours Drying: turning on raised African beds beneath shade mesh for 22 days