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.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Caturra coffee beans, provided by Cafe Imports and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: Jorge Velasquez
Country: Guatemala
Region: Ixconlaj, Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1950m above sea level
Varietals: Caturra
Process: washed
Harvested: March 2019
Body: Medium
Acidity: Bright
Tasting notes: Rosehip, toffee, red apple
Roast style: Omni (filter + espresso)

Varietals

Caturra varietal

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.