Boutique coffee Guatemalan coffee origin Guatemalan coffee practice

The extra hard coffee beans here are full, delicious and balanced, and the coffee brewed with them is pure and rich. Guatemala coffee once enjoyed a reputation as the best coffee in the world, but quality declined for a while. Happily, however, its popularity is gradually being restored.

In 1750, Father Jesuit introduced coffee trees to Guatemala, where German colonists developed the coffee industry in the late 19th century. Today, most of the coffee industry is produced in the south of the country. Here, the slopes of the Sierra Madre volcano provide ideal conditions for growing fine coffee beans, which grow at high altitudes. Critics prefer this blend of flavoured coffee with a spicy flavour to other types of coffee. The extra-hard coffee beans here are rare good coffee, it is full of particles, delicious, balanced acidity. Guatemala has also received attention for its giant coffee beans. The coffee industry, which once prospered the country, still dominates the national economy. Unfortunately, however, the political situation at home is not conducive to coffee growers. High output is usually a sign of overall economic prosperity in a country.

Guatemala

Guatemala coffee beans

However, coffee production in Guatemala has now declined relatively, to only 700 kg/ha, compared with 900 kg/ha in El Salvador and a staggering 1700 kg/ha in Costa Rica. Guatemala's coffee export trade is controlled by private companies, but the National Coffee Council (Asociación Nacional de Cafe) controls the rest of the coffee industry. Some of Guatemala's finest coffee is exported to Japan, where it sells for $3 to $4 a cup. Most of the small-scale producers are descendants of Mayans, who like to be called natives.

They are also currently benefiting from a US-funded program known locally as "The Project," which plans to invest $2.5 million to encourage small, high-quality coffee plantations. The main regions of Guatemala that produce high-quality coffee are Lake Atitlan and Huehuentenango. The aim of the project is to help break the vicious cycle of high production and low quality that has plagued the world coffee industry. Bourbon trees, for example, grow taller and produce fewer beans than the new dwarf trees, and although they are both Arabica varieties, Bourbon trees produce better beans and are more popular with foodies. The project also hopes to encourage local producers to process coffee beans themselves, since most coffee cherries are now sold to middlemen, and the value and even quality of coffee could be improved if it could be processed in local factories.

Antigua is also a famous coffee producer. Antigua coffee is produced at Hacienda Carmona, where the best quality coffee is EL Pulcal, which is not only of good quality, but also richer in flavor, taste and tobacco flavor than other coffees in Guatemala. Every 30 years or so, the area around Antigua is hit by a volcanic eruption, which provides more nitrogen to the already fertile land, and sufficient rainfall and sunshine make the area more suitable for growing coffee. Other coffee producing areas include San Marco, Oriente & Coban, Palcya, Mataquescuintia and La Uman in Zacapa. The establishment of the Specialty Coffee Association means that the Guatemala government is beginning to pay attention to high-quality coffee, and the efforts made for it will soon bear fruit