Which Arabica coffee varieties does Finca Las Rosas grow?

Finca Las Rosas in San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango, has grown coffee since 1915 and sits at 1,980 meters. The estate produces micro-lots of Geisha, Pacamara, Bourbon, Caturra, Pache, and Catuaí arabica coffee varieties, with Geisha, Pacamara, and Bourbon selling out each year. Its washed Geisha shows rose, bergamot, lemon, floral nectar, and a smooth body.

Guatemala has more than three hundred microclimates across eight producing regions, and high altitude shapes how these arabica coffee varieties develop. The coffee bean process here is washed, and the estate's SHB grade reflects the dense, high-grown beans. Las Rosas reached the C.O.E. winners' list in 2008 and 2017, and mainly trades directly with overseas buyers rather than local cooperatives.

Guatemala, with its high-altitude volcanic terrain and over three hundred microclimates, produces specialty coffee renowned worldwide. This article takes you into Finca Las Rosas in the Huehuetenango region, exploring its century-long history and the unique rose flavor of its washed Geisha beans, while also outlining Guatemala's eight major producing regions, main varieties, and washed processing methods. You'll also see Front Street Coffee's roasting approach for Guatemalan beans and V60 three-pour brewing parameters, as well as a flavor comparison between Huehuetenango and Flor del Café beans. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned enthusiast, you'll find practical reference here.

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Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca Las Rosas Specialty Geisha Washed Rose Flavor

Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca Las Rosas Geisha Washed Guatemala HHT Finca Las Rosas Geisha Washed

Country: Guatemala

Region: Huehuetenango

Altitude: 1,980 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Grade: SHB

Variety: Geisha

Flavor Description: Rose, bergamot, lemon, floral nectar, smooth body

Coffee cultivation at Finca Las Rosas dates back to 1915, spanning over a century. The estate is located in San Pedro Necta, a well-known area within Guatemala's high-altitude Huehuetenango region, primarily producing high-quality micro-lots of Geisha, Pacamara, Bourbon, Caturra, Pache, and Catuaí varieties. Among these, Geisha, Pacamara, and Bourbon are global bestsellers every year.

Finca Las Rosas sits in the magnificent Cuchumatanes Mountains, located in Guatemala's high-altitude Huehuetenango region. The name Las Rosas comes from the estate owner's grandmother, who loved planting roses around the farmhouse, so they named the farm Finca Las Rosas.

Current estate owner Isabel Villatoro Hernandez has inherited past experience and is even more committed to improving production procedures and equipment to enhance coffee quality. For them, high-quality coffee not only commands better prices but also improves employees' lifestyles through better wages, health, and education. Due to their high quality standards, the estate rarely sells coffee to local cooperatives or exporters, mostly trading directly with overseas clients.

Las Rosas was selected for the C.O.E. winners' list twice, in 2008 and 2017. In 2017, it achieved an excellent seventh place with its washed Geisha variety.

Coffee is fundamentally an agricultural crop, directly related to the environment and climate of its origin. Guatemala sits on high-altitude volcanic terrain, and these volcanoes are the most ideal places for cultivating coffee. So you'll find that Guatemalan coffee has a smoky note. The Geisha coffee from Guatemala is a wild coffee from Ethiopia, a very rare premium coffee. This single origin is from the Nueva Granada coffee farm in San Marcos, Guatemala, where plants grow at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The farm is located between two volcanoes, Tacaná and Tajumulco, with the Tacaná volcano providing rich soil. Guatemalan Geisha coffee's taste can be described as low-acidity chocolate and nutty notes. Annual harvest is limited. Rainforest Alliance Certified, medium roast. Cup profile: crisp, elegant, sweet and delicious. Baker's chocolate, lemon blossom, musk, dried peach, almond aroma and cup.

Guatemalan coffee is among the world's top coffees. Because it grows on high-altitude volcanic terrain, compared to other coffee varieties, tasters prefer this mixed flavor coffee with spicy notes. The Strictly Hard Bean coffee from here is a rare find—full-bodied, delicious, and well-balanced in acidity. Additionally, its giant coffee beans have also drawn much attention to Guatemala.

Guatemalan Coffee Producing Regions

Coffee was truly introduced to Guatemala in 1750 by Jesuit priests, and by the late 19th century German colonists developed the coffee industry here. Guatemala has eight major producing regions, divided into five volcanic regions and three non-volcanic regions. The five volcanic regions: Antigua, Acatenango, Atitlan, Volcanic San Marcos, and Fraijanes. The three non-volcanic regions: Huehuetenango, Coban, and New Oriente. Guatemala possesses over three hundred microclimates across its territory, which is unmatched worldwide. The coffee produced in each Guatemalan region has different flavors, but overall, Guatemalan coffee presents a mild yet rich body, elegant aroma, and a distinctive pleasant acidity similar to fruit acids, establishing itself as the nobility among coffees. Among them, Antigua Classic is highly recommended by coffee connoisseurs worldwide.

Huehuetenango

The Huehuetenango region is located in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala, with cultivation altitudes reaching 1,800-2,100 meters, making it the country's highest-altitude coffee producing region, famous for producing excellent quality beans. The dry hot winds from Mexico's Tehuantepec Plateau protect the coffee beans in this area from frost. Locals plant coffee trees at nearly 2,000 meters, which can be said to be a heaven-sent coffee growing environment. Although Huehuetenango's climate is dry, the region is interwoven with streams that provide abundant clean water for irrigation or for washing stations. During harvest season, washing can be done directly on the mountain. Because Guatemala has numerous rivers and lakes, and Huehuetenango is rich in mountains and water resources—with a dry climate but abundant water—and the region has complete water infrastructure, coffee is mostly processed using the washed method. Harvest period: January to April.

Front Street Coffee selected the washed Huehuetenango coffee, which has distinct citrus notes, lemon peel acidity yet rich berry intensity, and nutty notes in the finish, as Front Street Coffee's daily drinker bean. It represents the Huehuetenango region and is a representative of Guatemalan coffee.

Antigua

Antigua is the oldest and most beautiful city in the Americas. As early as 1543, Antigua was the capital of all of colonial Central America, and the Spanish Governor's Palace was also located here. After the great earthquake of 1773, Antigua was completely destroyed, and the capital was moved to Guatemala City. Antigua is about 40 kilometers west of Guatemala City. The colonial-era buildings were damaged by earthquakes, but the post-earthquake state has been preserved as a whole, making it a living history museum.

Coffee Varieties

Guatemala mainly cultivates Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, and Catuaí. Bourbon and Typica are both the oldest Arabica coffee varieties, mostly appearing as specialty coffee.

Front Street Coffee has two Guatemalan coffees. One is the daily drinker Huehuetenango coffee, with varieties of Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuaí; the other is the single-origin Guatemalan Flor del Café coffee, with varieties of Caturra and Bourbon.

Guatemalan Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Guatemalan coffee beans are mainly processed using the washed method.

After harvesting, the sorted coffee cherries are placed in a depulper to initially remove the skin and pulp. Then the green beans with residual pulp and mucilage are placed in water for about 24 hours of fermentation. After fermentation, they are washed in flowing water channels. After washing, the coffee beans are sun-dried or dried with a mechanical dryer until the moisture content drops to about 12%, then transferred to warehouses. Finally, the parchment layer is removed from the green beans, and they await sale. This processing method can express a very clean cup profile. At the same time, Front Street believes that washed coffee best showcases a region's basic flavors, so this bean is also very suitable for coffee newcomers as a marker of Guatemalan origin flavors.

Front Street Roasting Recommendations

Front Street Coffee has two Guatemalan coffees. One is the daily drinker Huehuetenango coffee, with varieties of Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuaí; the other is the single-origin Guatemalan Flor del Café coffee, with varieties of Caturra and Bourbon. Guatemalan coffee beans inherently carry the nutty and cocoa tones unique to Latin America, with a hint of floral fragrance and soft fruit acidity. Front Street adopts a medium-light roast profile, preserving more floral and fruity aromas, with clean and bright acidity.

Front Street Brewing Parameters for Guatemalan Coffee:

Guatemalan coffee beans are medium-light roasted. Light-roasted beans have a lower extraction rate than dark-roasted ones. Front Street recommends using a faster-flow V60 dripper, higher water temperature, and a finer grind size.

Front Street uses a medium-fine grind / caster sugar coarseness (80% passing through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve). Use 15g of coffee grounds, then pair with a V60 dripper, 91°C water temperature, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, and a three-pour technique for brewing.

Using three-stage extraction, bloom with twice the coffee grounds' weight in water, i.e., 30g of water for a 30-second bloom. The reason for the blooming process is to allow the coffee grounds to release internal carbon dioxide gas, thereby making the subsequent extraction more stable. Pour in a small stream in circles until reaching 125g, then pause, continue pouring until 225g and stop. After the water in the dripper has fully dripped through, remove the dripper. Start timing from the beginning of pouring; extraction time is 2'00". Next, pick up the entire cup of coffee and swirl it to mix evenly, then pour into cups for tasting.

Guatemala Huehuetenango Coffee Flavor Characteristics: Citrus and berry acidity, lemon peel, nutty aroma in the mid-palate, tea-like finish.

Guatemala Flor del Café Coffee Flavor Characteristics: Berry acidity, citrus, slight chocolate, rich layering, smooth mouthfeel.

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