Guatemala Maravilla: Sample Coffee Roasters

Guatemala
Maravilla

We find flavours of sweet cherry, apple, toffee

Body Acidity

In 1997 when Guillermo Rosales and his son Mauricio purchased this land he named it La Maravilla (The Marvel). Back then the 22 hectare farm had just three arabica coffee trees. Together they planted the first 1.2 hectares of coffee with 2,500 seedlings, along with more trees which were donated by their neighbours.

La Maravilla is situated in the village of Los Arroyos, which was accessible only by foot or horseback and at the time had no electricity This meant plants, supplies and construction materials for the farm were carried in and out by mule, making their early work costly.

They continued to sew around 2.5 hectares of coffee per year with bourbon and caturra from excellent stock from nearby regions Over the years they’ve constructed a drying patio and obtained the equipment to wet-process their own coffee: two key factors in improving quality and earning a better return for the farm.

The family, with the support of nearby producers and the Los Arroyos community, has worked tirelessly through years of fluctuating coffee prices to improve their infrastructure and purchase more land to plant coffee.

Sadly in 2005 Guillermo Rosales passed away aged 82, but with a strong legacy for his family, who’ve continued producing fantastic coffees.

We’re proud to share and support their work at La Miravella, with this harvest coming to us all the way from Guatemala, and now to you.

Huehuetenango

La Maravilla is in the Huehuetenango region in the north of Guatemala alongside the Mexican border.

It’s the highest and driest of three non-volcanic regions of Guatemala. Warm, dry winds from the Mexican plains of Tehuantepec blow towards the region, offering the crops some protection from frost.

Coffee is the main export of the region, and as we’s already seen from the Rosales’s story, the rugged terrain and remoteness means most producers process their own crops.

Caturra

This coffee is the Caturra varietal, which is a natural mutation of the Bourbon varietal, and first found in the town of Caturra in Brasil.

Caturra is a shorter plant than Bourbon, which is one of the reasons it produces a higher yield. It’s also more disease resistant than older traditional varietals.

Continuing the process of cross-breeding, Caturra has since been crossed with Catimor to produce the Catuai varietal.

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Caturra coffee beans, 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: Mauricio Rosales
Country: Guatemala
Region: Huehuetenango
Altitude: 1650 - 1800m above sea level
Varietals: Caturra
Process: Washed
Body: Medium
Acidity: Medium
Tasting notes: Sweet cherry, apple, toffee
Roast style: Omni

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.