El Llano H1 Variety

Raul Perez is a fifth generation coffee producer in Acatenango, Guatemala. His farm, El Llano is a place for testing new varieties and farming methods, which is where this lot was grown. This is our first season buying coffee from Raul, and we love this coffee. It is soft and gentle at first taste, opening up to a round, creamy sweetness and an acidity that rides the perfect line of being balanced and intense without overpowering the rest of the cup. 

H1, also called Centroamericano, was a part of a research project attempting to find climate change resistant coffee varieties. It is a cross of the hearty Sarchimor and Rume Sudan. It is considered a success due to its rust resistance and almost 30% more productivity than Caturra or Catuai but with all their prized flavor notes.

With climate change posing an ever present risk to specialty coffee production, we love to support farmers growing coffees like this. Continued research is needed to find more diversity of varieties if we hope to drink great coffee for years to come.