Volcanic Environment Effects on Coffee Guatemala Volcanic Region Antigua Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics

Fertile volcanic soil, low humidity, plenty of sunshine and cool nights are characteristic of the region and are home to some of Guatemala's most extraordinary coffees. The valley around the town of Antigua (hence the name of the area) is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fire and Akatnango. Every once in a while, Fuego, one of Guatemala's three active volcanoes, adds fresh mineral-rich ash to the soil of Antigua. The volcanic pumice in the soil retains water, which helps offset the low rainfall in Antigua. It may be very cold at night. In Antigua, the shade is particularly thick to protect coffee plants from occasional frosts in the area.

At this stage, the front street coffee from the Antigua producing area of Guatemala is only Flower God, the flavor of this coffee is very obvious, very rich, smooth taste. There is a sweet and sour feeling of berries in the final rhyme and an obvious sense of smoke.

Around the world, volcanic soil is generally seen as "more fertile" and suitable for growing crops, including coffee. But why?

Worldwide, more than 800 million people-almost 10% of the world's population-live within 100km of the world's 1431 active volcanoes. Despite their destructive power, active volcanoes also attract millions of tourists each year and provide geothermal energy that can be used to support local communities. In addition, volcanic material produced during volcanic eruptions can be mixed with the surrounding land to form some of the world's most fertile crop-growing soils. In particular, coffee plants thrive in volcanic soil, which has a series of physical, chemical and mineral properties, which make it superior to other soil types in agriculture. However, the soil is only part of the story; the volcanic environment also provides other conditions for growing the world's most delicious coffee.

The power of volcanic soil

Most volcanic soils are formed by "tephra". Tephra is a mixture of volcanic particles (ash) and rock debris that erupts from the volcano during eruption and then falls to the ground. Over time, volcanic ash decomposes to produce what we call volcanic soil.

Most volcanic soil is called Andisol or Andosols, which comes from the Japanese words anshokudo and ando, meaning "dark soil". Andy sols are light and fluffy; they contain a high proportion of silicate glass and have a tendency to accumulate organic matter.

Andisol is very suitable for plant rooting for a variety of reasons. First of all, they have low density and stable but porous structures. This enables the soil to effectively retain moisture and make it relatively resistant to drought. Because of their high permeability, plant roots can also grow deep and drain easily, which prevents the roots from becoming too wet and rotting.

The growth of coffee plants requires a variety of nutrients, which are transported through the soil. To some extent, volcanic soils are fertile because they are relatively "young"; they retain many of the nutrients found in primitive rocks. Although it varies from volcano to volcano, Andisol usually contains phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and boron, all of which are important for the development of coffee plants.