Blue Ayarza

Blue Ayarza comes from the Ayarza region in the department of Santa Rosa, Guatemala, at elevations of 1,400 to 2,000 meters above sea level. Defined by the dramatic landscape of Laguna de Ayarza and Laguna Azul—formed when two volcanoes collapsed and created a large crater—this area is a place of unusual beauty and character. Cold, blue waters, rugged and remote terrain, and a terroir that for years concealed enormous potential for specialty coffee. In the cup, this terroir translates into expressive fruit, deep sweetness, and a complexity that surprises from the very first sip.

Behind this lot are the small-scale producers of the Ayarza region, supported by the Olam Guatemala team, which centrally manages coffee purchasing and processing to ensure consistent quality from lot to lot. In Guatemala, coffee is traditionally processed individually at each farm, making quality control difficult. The Ayarza model turns this approach on its head: ripe cherries are purchased directly from local farmers, who are paid a premium for quality, and processed centrally under strict standards. Among the producers working with this project is Arnaldo López, a 56-year-old coffee farmer who has spent his whole life connected to coffee—his father took him to the fields to plant coffee trees when he was a child, and today coffee remains the livelihood that supports his family and his five children.

This lot, made up of Anacafé 14, Bourbon, Catuaí, Pache, and San Ramón varieties, is processed using the Natural method, with care that begins with cherry selection. Since Ayarza’s rugged terrain is not suitable for drying natural coffees, the selected cherries are transported to the neighboring region of Amatitlán, where intense sunshine and a steady breeze create ideal conditions for the process. The cherries are spread in layers 10 to 15 cm deep and turned frequently throughout the day, changing from bright red to deep purple and finally to black. The process is completed in a mechanical dryer for a few hours, which improves the profile’s acidity and eliminates the risk of moisture reabsorption. The result is a highly expressive cup with ripe fruit and distinctive deep sweetness.

In the cup, Blue Ayarza offers a fruity, sweet, and highly expressive profile. Blackberry opens with dark, juicy, vibrant fruit that defines the coffee’s character from the very first sip. Blueberry adds fresh, bright acidity that brings vibrancy and balance, while loquat contributes soft, enveloping ripe fruit that rounds everything out. Milk chocolate closes the profile with a creamy, comforting base that supports the entire structure. With medium body and medium acidity, it makes for a fruity, sweet, and beautifully rounded cup.

With a score of 86 and an omni roast, Blue Ayarza adapts equally well to filter and espresso: in filter, blackberry and blueberry unfold broadly, bringing greater brightness and delicacy to the cup; under pressure, milk chocolate and loquat take center stage, and the profile becomes denser and more enveloping. A coffee for those seeking expressive fruit, deep sweetness, and an origin with a story of its own.

Blue Ayarza is Guatemalan coffee at its most surprising: a remote and distinctive region, a collective approach that transforms quality starting with the cherry, and a Natural process that turns Ayarza’s volcanic landscape into a fruity, complex cup full of character.