Guatemala Finca Duranzo - Espresso

Region: Huehuetenango

Process: Washed

Variety: Bourbon, Caturra

Altitude: 1,600 - 1,750 masl

SCA Score: 85-87 points

Tasting notes: Citrusy, nutty, chocolate 

Huehuetenango is recognized as one of the districts that dominate the annual Guatemala Cup of Excellence with top scoring lots showcasing different varieties, from the more traditional Bourbon and Caturra to the rare Geisha.

With smallholder coffee plantations situated in remote, mountainous terrains that are in the highest elevations across the country, Huehuetenango’s coffee plantations have been known through the years as a source of high-quality coffees with pleasantly prominent acidity and a complex character that can include floral and fruited notes accompanied by a heavy body.

The physical constraints borne out of the natural environment pose the logistical challenge of transporting harvested coffee cherries to any external facilities for post-harvest processing, prompting coffee growers to implement processing protocols on-site themselves.

Finca Durazno owned by Octavio Lopez Camposeco, is one of those smallholder coffee farms.

By working with specialty coffee multi-hyphenate Raul Rodas — four-time Guatemala National Barista Champion, the World Barista Champion in 2012, and 2024 Guatemala National Brewer’s Cup Champion — also the founder of Paradigma Coffee Trading, Finca Durazno gains insight into patterns of consuming trends in the international specialty coffee market.

This knowledge, gained through Raul’s constant and open communication across his network of world-class roasters, enables them to orient strategic and operational activities at the farm-level toward meeting and pro-actively anticipating consumers’ needs.

For Raul’s part too, he has resolved to be high-quality green coffee buyers’ “eyes, ears, and taste buds on the ground,” matching their requirements with the producers and farms in his dossier, to configure the right combination of specific varieties and processing methods that will construct the desired cup profiles.