This country can boast about great coffee !! Guatemalan coffees are some of the most amazing fragrant and aromatic coffees in the world. The natural shade and jungle of the Guatemalan highlands are the perfect environment for the bourbon botanical variety of arabica, Guatemalan growing regions vary in their potential cup quality: many have sufficient altitude, soil and climate conditions. Antiguas are well-known and highly rated. Huehuetenango from the north highland can be exceptional and have distinct fruit flavors. It produces a wonderful bright coffee with nice body, and excellent floral tones and fruitiness. Coban, Fraijanes and Quiche can be nice, but they need to be cupped carefully: they can have a nice cup but sometimes less complexity and depth. Atitlan has produced some very fine coffees in the past few years. But remember, you can’t count on any origin to necessarily produce a great coffee: the quality cup is still hard to find among even the most celebrated and recognized regions …in this case Antigua.

One Guatemalan Coffee Producer:
Associacion Chajulense Va’l Vaq Qujol:
This is a coffee cooperative organized in 1988 by 40 some coffee farmers of the Chaju area Triangulo Ixil, Quiche. This is a social responsible coffee grown here – Through sustainable practices coffee producers improve not only the quality of farmer life, but also consciously help their environment. Coffee is shade grown , preserving native fruit and animal species.

Currently there are a over 1,600 active members (most are coffee farmers) their mission goal is to “promote a sustainable development model that is environmentally sound, economically feasible, fair from a social point of view and appropriate from a cultureal standpoint” – in 2007 they exported 47 containers of Fair Trade Organic Coffee – each year since has seen an increase – My importers in the U.S. communicate their newest arrivals each week. When I tried the Maya Ixil I loved it . I keep all my roasting to a medium – no oils roast, unless specified otherwise..this is really when you can appreciate a coffee’s origin flavor – Maya Ixil is not too complex , has a sweet fragrance, berry notes , piquant acidity & pleasant aftertaste – it has a medium body and I think it is best roasted to a full city roast ( light on the oil ) ..

To order click the ‘ORDER COFFEE” icon , select “Fair Trade/Organic” coffees. All Guatemalan we order is Organic.