Guatemala La Idolia: Sample Coffee Roasters

Guatemala
La Idolia

We find flavours of delicate acidity, light stone fruit, toffee finish

Body Acidity

This coffee comes from the La Idolia farm in Guatemala, run by Fernando Diaz and his mother Isabel Ortega.

They took over the running of the farm when Fernando’s father passed away a couple of years ago. Coffee farming has been in the family since the 18th century, starting with Don Lizandro, a landowner and coffee grower in the eighteenth century.

We think it’s great to see a new generation dedicated to continuing the tradition of producing fantastic specialty coffee.

The farm is situated in the high altitude part of Santa Rosa. The road to get in is short but takes time since it is muddy and uneven. It takes you through beautiful rainforest, past the nursery at the bottom of the track where seedlings are being sown, with young trees then taken from this protective area up to the farm for planting.

The undulating terroir gives these producers the advantage of having several different micro-climates within the land that they manage. In fact the land is divided in to four different ‘farms.’

Coffee on the slopes of La Idolia

It’s tough work with the only piece of flat land being the small section where the house is located — even the nursery, wet mill and patios are built on a slope.

Coffee on the slopes of La Idolia

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Catuai, Caturra, and Pache coffee beans, provided by Silo 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: Fernando Diaz And Isabel Ortega
Country: Guatemala
Region: Pueblo Nuevo Viñas, Santa Rosa
Altitude: 1770m above sea level
Varietals: Catuai, Caturra, and Pache
Process: Washed
Harvested: January 2015
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Delicate acidity, light stone fruit, toffee finish
Roast style: Omni

Varietals

Catuai varietal

Created by the Instituto Agronomico do Campinas in Brasil, Catuai is a hybrid varietal between Caturra and Mundo Novo.

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.

Pache varietal

Pache is a natural mutation of Typica, originally discovered in Guatemala in farms of El Brito, Santa Cruz Naranjo and Santa Rosa.

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.

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.