How Does Central American Coffee Express SL28 in Guatemala?
A honey-processed SL28 lot from Finca Plan del Guayabo in Guatemala's New Oriente region shows how a Kenyan variety adapts to Central American coffee terroir. Grown at 1,675 meters in the Suchitán volcanic area under full shade, the estate sits in a rainy, cloudy microclimate. The cup carries SL28's signature high sweetness, citrus and smoked plum notes, and layered fruity acidity.
The lot is compared across two roast profiles from Front Street Coffee: a high-heat fast roast against an extended development time. Cupping reveals how each curve shifts the flavor, with pour-over parameters and tasting notes included. SL28, part of the Bourbon lineage, traces back to French Mission, Mocha, and Yemen Typica parents selected in Kenya in the early twentieth century.
SL28, this legendary variety originating from Kenya, has now crossed the Atlantic to take root in the New Oriente region of Guatemala in Central America. Front Street Coffee brings you this SL28 honey-processed lot from Finca Plan del Guayabo (Guava Plain Estate), located at 1,675 meters in the Suchitán volcanic area, grown under full shade. This article will present the complete background of the SL28 variety, the terroir characteristics of the New Oriente region, and a comparison of two roasting profiles by Front Street Coffee's roaster tailored to the honey-processed bean quality. Through cupping, we reveal how high-heat fast roasting versus extended development time affects the flavor. Finally, we include pour-over parameters and tasting notes.
Front Street Coffee has set its sights on SL28 this time, except it has already crossed the ocean and settled in Guatemala, Central America. Among examples of African varieties traveling far across the sea, aside from the universally known Geisha, SL28 is truly rare. What flavor profile will it present in Guatemala's terroir? Let's reveal it one by one.
SL28 is a Bourbon-lineage variety selected in Kenya in the early twentieth century by French and British missionaries and researchers, with a lineage blending French Mission, Mocha, and Yemen Typica. High sweetness, delicate balance, distinct citrus and smoked plum notes, a full-bodied texture, and a strong, multi-layered fruity acidity together form the signature characteristics of SL28. Along with SL34, it supports the majority of Kenya's coffee production. And the bean Front Street Coffee is introducing today is grown in Guatemala's New Oriente region.
Estate: Finca Plan del Guayabo (Guava Plain Estate)
Region: New Oriente
Micro-region: Volcán de Suchitán
Altitude: 1,675 meters
Annual rainfall: 1,500 mm
Variety: SL28
Processing method: Honey process
Shade: 100% shade-grown
Flowering period: April-May
Harvest period: January-March
New Oriente Region
New Oriente is one of Guatemala's oldest coffee-producing regions. In the 1980s, steadily rising demand for specialty coffee drove the development of this area. Once one of Guatemala's poorest and most isolated regions, it has now grown rapidly, with more and more small estates beginning to grow coffee. New Oriente has a cloudy and rainy climate, sits atop ancient volcanic mountain ranges, and its soil is primarily metamorphic rock, making it quite rich in minerals. Compared to Guatemala's other volcanic zones, New Oriente has experienced multiple volcanic events since coffee cultivation began there, making it one of the few survivors in a perilous environment.
Current estate owner: Mr. Benjamin Donado
Guayabo
Guayabo is located in Guatemala's New Oriente region beside the Volcan de Suchitan (to the north). The estate's Spanish name “Plan del Guayabo” means “Guava Plain,” named after the large number of guava trees planted locally. The current estate owner is Benjamin Donado, whose family began growing coffee in 1990. The local terrain is steep and the altitude is high, and almost everyone believed this land was suited for forestry rather than coffee cultivation, but Mr. Donado always believed he could grow quality coffee. Facts have proven this judgment correct, and it is precisely because of Mr. Donado's “stubbornness” back then that we have the opportunity to taste this outstanding coffee.
Front Street Coffee Roasting and Flavor Evaluation
With SL28 paired with honey processing, the roaster's first reaction was: sour and sweet! Guatemalan high-altitude beans are inherently hard, and honey processing further enhances the density of the bean. After the first roast, it was found that this bean absorbs heat rather slowly during the dehydration phase, and slow temperature rise prolongs the roasting time, resulting in baked flavors.
So the roaster adjusted the strategy, switching to high-heat fast roasting during the dehydration phase while extending the Maillard reaction time after the yellowing point and the development time after first crack, allowing the coffee to fully mature. Two batches were roasted following this approach, rested for 8 hours, then compared through cupping.
Profile A
Profile B
The above are the two roasting profiles using high-heat fast roasting with extended development. The yellowing points for Profile A and Profile B were 5'30 and 4'50 respectively, first crack points were 185℃/8'40 and 187℃/8'36, and drop temperatures and development times were 196℃/1'50 and 198℃/2'00. From the profiles, it can be judged that Profile B received more sufficient energy in the early stage and had a longer flavor development time, so theoretically both enzymatic flavors and caramelized flavors would be superior to Profile A. So do the cupping results align with the roasting predictions?
The cupping results are as follows:
Profile A | Roasted peanut, almond, cocoa, caramel, grapefruit, cream.
Profile B | Floral, toffee, almond, cocoa, cinnamon, plum, jackfruit, with a faint tobacco leaf note nurtured by Guatemala's volcanic soil.
Others: Profile B's coffee has a better sweet-acidity amplitude, high sweetness, a long finish, and a stronger sweet aftertaste.
Roaster: Yangjia 600g, charge weight 300g, roasting room temperature 28℃, humidity 50%.
The roaster used a low charge temperature, then after 30 seconds raised the heat to 160 and opened the airflow to 3, bringing the turning point to 101℃. At the browning point of 160℃, airflow was opened to 4; during this minute there is a slight temperature rise due to the release of steam. Based on the first crack temperatures of the previous 2 batches, we predicted the first crack point to be around 185℃, so we lowered the heat to 100 ten degrees in advance to slow the temperature rise, paving the way for extending the development time after first crack. First crack at 187℃, development of 11℃, taking 2 minutes; during first crack, the cracking sounds can be heard appearing in an orderly manner.
After 24 hours, Front Street Coffee's barista brewed it as pour-over for tasting~
Dose 16 grams, water temperature 90℃, coffee-to-water ratio 1:16, medium-fine grind (suitable for light-roasted coffee), brew time 2 minutes 15 seconds.
The moment this coffee touches the lips, it delivers a rich toffee aroma, with the excellent balance characteristic of Central American coffee, carrying cinnamon notes. After it cools slightly, almond and jackfruit flavors emerge, finishing with cocoa and berry notes, with a finish of tobacco leaf and sweet aftertaste; the bottom of the cup holds a rich caramel sweetness. After finishing a cup, it gives one the feeling of watching SL28 push into the new American continent, battling wind and waves on the endless ocean, and finally blending perfectly with its new home.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
