Guatemala - Natural Processed

Tasting Notes: Fruity, cherry, plum, red licorice aroma

Country: Guatemala

Region: Joyabaj Municipality

Farm: 1550 Smallholder farmers organized around the Joyabaj Wet Mill

Variety: Anacafé 14, Bourbon, Catimor, Caturra, Red catuai, Yellow catuai, and Typica

Altitude: 1300 - 2000 meters above sea level

Processing: Natural

Background From Our Importer: 

This coffee was grown and harvested by organic certified smallholder farmers from Chuaquenun community near the municipality of Joyabaj (pronounced ho-yah-bach”) in southern Quiché, and processed centrally at an experimental wet mill set up in the city center. The wet mill was newly constructed this past harvest by a specialty exporter organization, Federación Comercializadora de Café Especial de Guatemala (FECCEG), which represents a number of different smallholder farmer associations across Guatemala. This is the first time that central processing infrastructure has been available to the greater Joyabaj communities, and represents a new investment by FECCEG in the area.

To reach the mill, cherry is collected by designated couriers among the community, as not every farm has the means to transport their own pickings. Once received, cherry is separated by density using a siphon machine. In the case of the naturalprocess microlots, cherry is fermented for 36 hours. During this time, Ph is tested and once it achieves the optimun level cherry is taken directly from the fermentation drums to solar dryers with raised beds inside for a carefully controlled drying process of about two weeks, during which it is turned by hand to ensure even dehydration. Once dried, the finished cherry is transported to FECCEG’s main dry mill in Quetzaltenango, where it is coded and stored for quality assessment.The long-term goal of the Joyabaj Wet Mill project includes not only reliable, top-quality coffee for export, but also critical aspects of farm sustainability, such as technical assistance, organic certification, entrepreneurship training for women, and community nurseries to rejuvenate coffee canopies.