Guatemala
Jorge Velasquez
Finca El Plan

Washed process Caturra

Flavour: rosehip, toffee, red apple

Body: Acidity:

Jorge Velazquez Mendez owns Finca El Plan, a three hectare farm in Guatemala, where he grows Caturra coffee. It’s grown with some shade cover from other trees, and picked when ripe and de-puled the same day. It’s then fermented with water for 36-48 hours.

His team then washes the coffee about three times to remove all the mucilage, and dries it on shadecloth for three days.

Coffee production in Guatemala first grew in the 1860s, after the decline of the indigo trade. It was in the top five coffee-producing nations until 2011, when it was overtaken by Honduras.

We’ve shared some coffee from the Huehuetenango region previously – including Peña Blanca, Maravilla, and Los Encuentros. It’s a non-volcanic region of Guatemala that’s characterised by its high altitude and predictable climate, and often considered to produce the highest quality coffee in the country.

Ixconlaj is a rural community in the region, where most speak Mam, one of Guatemala’s indigenous languages. Most of the community are subsistence farmers, cultivating crops like corn, plantain, legumes, and coffee such as this. Coffee’s by the far the most labour-intensive of the crops, but also the one with the most potential should it reach the international specialty market.

We think Guatemala’s an origin you’ll see more in specialty, and that’s all down to a new crop of quality-focused farmers like Jorge.

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

Learn more:
Our packaging

Producer: Jorge Velasquez
Country: Guatemala
Region: Ixconlaj, Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1950m above sea level
Variety: Caturra
Process: washed
Harvested: March 2019
Importer: Cafe Imports
Body: Medium
Acidity: Bright
Tasting notes: Rosehip, toffee, red apple
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.