Guatemala
Eugenio Ahilon

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: liqourice, brown sugar, pear

Body: Acidity:

Our last coffee for 2019 comes from Eugenio Ahilon Escalante, who grows the Caturra varietal of coffee on around 3.5 hectares of his farm, called La Joya.

Guatemala’s production of coffee first grew in the 1860s on the back of a declining indigo trade, which was previously the main export. Until 2011 Guatemala was in the top five highest producing coffees nations in the world, before being overtaken by Honduras.

The majority of coffee farmers in Guatemala are small holders and a large percentage of them, along with the general population of Guatemala, associate with the 20 officially recognised indigenous communities of Guatemala.

The country’s national coffee institute, Anacafé, has been an important figure in helping Guatemala combat the outbreak of leaf rust in the country. Since 2012, the outbreak of this disease has reduced crop out-put by up to 25% and has forced farmers to move away from traditional varieties such as bourbon and caturra and instead move towards newer, more disease resistant varietals.

Learn everything about this coffee:

Ethical, traceable sourcing

This page has all the sourcing information (variety, process, region, story, importer, and more) that our importers share with us, and give us permission to use.

The transparency helps us talk confidently about the quality and background of our product, and it helps you know exactly what you’re buying.

Learn more:
Coffee page transparency legend
Our coffee philosophy
Our business approach

Fresh harvest coffee

We only source and roast coffee from each country’s latest harvest season (so the green coffee is never older than 1 year from the time of picking, processing and packing). This ensures the sensory qualities are always at their peak and unaffected by excessive ageing.

Roasted for espresso and filter (best enjoyed black)

Roast style: omni. Omni roasts are designed to brew and taste great both as espresso and filter. Our omni single origins generally sit on Agtron values in the ~70-60 value range. So, technically, they are somewhere in the lighter side of the medium spectrum.

Designed for espresso and filter brewing. Best enjoyed black.

Learn more:
Our Loring Kestrel S35 roaster
Our roasting style and approach

Best brewed within days 15-49 post-roast

The ‘fresh is best’ saying doesn’t apply to coffee (contrary to popular belief). Waiting before opening and brewing your bag of whole coffee beans helps develop peak flavour and acidity.

But heads up: if you buy pre-ground coffee, brew it as soon as possible.

Learn more:
Our recommended brewing window

Try our custom brewing recipes

Our recipes and ratios are tailored to our coffee sourcing and roasting styles, bringing the best flavour and feel out of each coffee.

For pour over, immersion, and other filter brewing styles, check our brew guides.
For our espresso single origins, we recommend a coffee:yield ratio of 1:3:

Dose: 20g ground coffee
Yield: 60g espresso
Total brew time: ~24-28 seconds

This is just a starting point! We encourage you to experiment, taste, and adjust to find the recipe that you enjoy the most.

Learn more:
Our espresso brew guide (single origin)
Brewing ratio calculator

Packaging and sustainability

Bags: ABA-certified home compostable (AS 5810-2010)
Labels: recyclable
Valves (only on +250g bags): general waste
Box and tape (online orders): recyclable

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Our packaging

Producer: Eugenio Ahilon
Country: Guatemala
Region: Todos Santos, Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1760m above sea level
Variety: Caturra
Process: washed
Harvested: April 2019
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Liqourice, brown sugar, pear
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Variety

Caturra variety

Caturra is a natural mutation of Bourbon that was originally discovered in Brazil in 1937, considered to be the first naturally occurring mutation ever discovered.

The location

Coffee from Guatemala

Guatemala’s production of coffee first grew in the 1860s on the back of a declining indigo trade, which had previously existed as it’s main export. Up until 2011 Guatemala was in the top 5 highest producing coffees nations in the world, before being overtaken by Honduras.

The Huehuetenango region of Guatemala

A non-volcanic region of Guatemala characterised by high altitude and predictable climate. Often considered to produce the highest quality coffee in Guatemala

Farm processes

Washed process

Machines are used to remove the flesh from the coffee cherry before being fermented in water, washed again, and finally sun dried. This process tends to result in more distinct, cleaner flavours.