How Do Bourbon and Caturra Differ in Antigua Coffee?

Guatemala's Antigua region, a valley at 1,500 meters ringed by volcanoes, produces coffee whose mineral-rich volcanic ash soils shape its flavor. The Flor lot from Finca La Minita is a blend of two varieties, Bourbon and Caturra, which look nearly identical as beans but differ in the curvature of their ends. Cupping reveals a faint white floral aroma and a slight smoky note.

Guatemalan coffee prices are expected to rise in the new crop season, with roughly 12,500 growing families facing higher production costs tied to climate change and the pandemic. The washed processing method used for Flor, combined with V60 staged brewing, helps bring out its floral and smoky characteristics for those exploring the coffee bean process.

The Guatemalan coffee industry is facing cost pressures from climate change and the pandemic, and prices in the new crop season are expected to rise. This article focuses on the Finca La Minita Flor coffee beans from the Antigua region, providing a comprehensive analysis of the bean's unique characteristics, from the region's terroir, variety identification, and washed processing method to Front Street Coffee's roasting and cupping records. Flor is composed of two varieties, Bourbon and Caturra, which have similar bean shapes but differ in the curvature of their ends. Through cupping, Front Street discovered that Flor carries a faint white floral aroma and a slight smoky note, creating a pleasantly surprising taste experience. The article also shares V60 staged brewing parameters and flavor performance, suitable for coffee enthusiasts to explore in depth.

Latest News from Guatemalan Coffee Regions

News

According to Coffee Financial Network, approximately 12,500 coffee-growing families in Guatemala are under pressure from rising production costs caused by the dual impact of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. The president of the local coffee association pointed out that current coffee prices are not enough to cover basic living expenses. If this trend continues, Guatemalan coffee bean prices in the new crop season will be higher than in previous years, and the difficulties facing the local coffee industry may deepen further.

Antigua Coffee Region

Antigua Guatemala

Antigua is a well-known ancient city in Central America located in Guatemala, situated in the Panchoy Valley at an altitude of 1,500 meters, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with several volcanoes nearby, close to the peaks of Agua Volcano and Fuego Volcano. The continuous chain of volcanoes not only gives the city of Antigua a charming landscape, but the volcanic ash scattered with each eruption also carries abundant minerals that cover the surrounding soil, creating superior growing conditions for local vegetation and coffee trees.

A Unique Taste Experience

Taste

When Front Street cupped several coffee beans from Guatemalan regions, their smoky aroma surprised everyone. If a smoky note appeared in beans from other regions, Front Street would likely judge it as a defective flavor, because this taste can cause an uncomfortable throat-clogging sensation when swallowing. However, even when Guatemalan coffee beans carry a smoky note, it does not cause displeasure. On the contrary, this smoky aroma actually becomes a delightful aspect of Guatemalan coffee beans. The Finca La Minita Flor coffee beans discussed in this Front Street article brought a double surprise to the palate. In addition to the slight smokiness, these beans also exude an elegant white floral aroma, as if discovering a blooming flower amid a volcano.

Finca La Minita is renowned for its excellent cultivation and processing techniques as well as extremely strict quality control. Following this standard, they commissioned Las Pastores, the largest washed processing plant in Antigua, to process the green beans, and named this coffee Flor. It retains the original flavor characteristics of the region, with a dry aroma featuring rich floral and tea notes, and upon sipping, it presents lemon acidity and berry flavors, then transforms into a honey-like finish. Its outstanding cleanliness and rich layering are the hallmarks of this Flor.

Coffee Bean Varieties

Bourbon&Caturra

These Flor coffee beans are composed of two varieties, Bourbon and Caturra, both originating from the Bourbon lineage, with beans tending toward a round shape.

However, distinguishing these two varieties is not difficult. Upon careful observation, one can find that Caturra coffee beans have a more curved end compared to Bourbon, with a round and slender shape. These two varieties typically exhibit superior aroma, bright acidity, and a juicy mouthfeel in terms of flavor.

Coffee Bean Processing Method

Washed

The washed processing method first sends the selected coffee cherries into a depulper to initially remove the skin and pulp, then immerses the green coffee beans with mucilage still attached in water for wet fermentation, lasting about 18 to 36 hours. After fermentation is complete, the beans with parchment are washed in a flowing water channel to remove residual pulp and mucilage.

After washing, the coffee beans need to be dried to reduce the moisture content to about 12%, and finally the parchment is removed from the green beans. Front Street believes that washed Flor coffee beans have a cleaner and brighter acidity, better showcase the fresh sensation of white floral notes, while weakening the coffee beans' own smoky flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Record

When the drum temperature rose to 200°C, the beans were added, the damper was set to 3, and after 30 seconds the heat was adjusted to 160°C with the damper unchanged. The turning point appeared at 1 minute 36 seconds. Maintaining the heat, by 4 minutes 50 seconds the bean surface turned yellow, the grassy smell completely dissipated, entering the dehydration stage, the heat was reduced to 140°C and the damper adjusted to 4.

At 4 minutes 50 seconds, dehydration was complete, and the heat was reduced to 140°C. At 8 minutes 32 seconds, ugly wrinkles and dark mottled patterns appeared on the bean surface, and the toast-like smell clearly transformed into coffee aroma. This can be regarded as the prelude to first crack, and one needs to carefully listen for the sound of first crack. At 8 minutes 37 seconds, first crack began, the heat was reduced to 80°C, and the damper was fully opened to 5 (be very careful when adjusting heat—do not reduce it so much that the cracking sound cannot be heard). After first crack, development continued for 1 minute 50 seconds, and the beans were dropped at 195.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

Dry Aroma: Berry, Caramel

Wet Aroma: Lemon, White Floral

Flavor: Lemon, Berry, White Floral, Chocolate, Nut, Slight Smoky

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Notes

Dripper: Hario V60

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15 (15g coffee / 225g water)

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Between medium-fine and medium-coarse (77% passing through Chinese Standard No. 20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Staged Extraction Method: First, use 30g of water to fully wet the coffee bed, forming a "hamburger" shape, and bloom for 30 seconds (if the "hamburger" shape does not form, check whether the coffee beans are not fresh enough or the grind is too coarse);

Next, proceed with the second stage of brewing. When the timer shows 54 seconds, pour water until it reaches 125g, then pause. Wait for the water level to drop to two-thirds of the coffee bed before pouring the third stage (this stage aims to extract the sweet and acidic flavor compounds from the coffee grounds). In the third stage, when the timer reaches 1 minute 40 seconds, pour water until it reaches 225g. The total extraction time is 2 minutes 10 seconds (this stage is to extract the rich, full-bodied flavor compounds from the coffee grounds). After extraction is complete, gently swirl, and wait for the coffee liquid to be fully uniform before tasting.

Brewing Flavor: At high temperatures, it enters with a bright lemon-like acidity. As the temperature gradually drops, the juicy mouthfeel carries a subtle white floral note, followed by cocoa and a slight smokiness that add layers to this coffee. Finally, a caramel-like aftertaste brings this cup of coffee to a perfect conclusion.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee: WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.