Buzzed: Honey Light Roast (SP)

Another Guatemalan stunner from Jaime Sanchez, a member of Café Colis Resistencia, a group of Indigenous Xinka coffee producers and land defenders (read more below). 

This is a honey processed coffee, which is when the coffee is depulped (removed from the cherry) but isn't washed, which allows it to ferment with the mucilage layer still on the coffee seed. It has a fruity sweetness that is really balanced (not overbearing like some anaerobics) and a really silky texture. 

ORIGIN + VARIETY: SINGLE PRODUCER - Guatemala + Red and Yellow Catuai
TASTING NOTES: peaches + citrus + chocolate + maple syrup
ROAST: Light
PRODUCER: Jaime Sanchez
FARM: Los Flores
REGION: Cañalitos, Casillas, Nueva Santa Rosa
ALTITUDE: 1885 masl
PROCESS: Honey

SIZE: Available in 227g, 340g, 454g, 908g and 5lb bags.  

GRIND: Whole Bean, Filter, French Press and Espresso/Moka Pot.

More about the processing method:

Cherries are picked at peak ripeness and are then floated before being depulped. The resulting cherries are then passed through an eco pulper and fermented before being dried on raised beds for 18 to 20 days.

More about Cafe Colis Resistencia

Cafe Colis Resistencia is the name created by Alex Reynoso to identify coffee producing members of the the Indigenous Xinka community around Mataquescuintla who are interested in developing an international market for their coffee, and therefore finally receiving fair prices for their work.

Within Mataquescuintla and area, nearly 90% of the population identifies as a coffee producer and yet, almost none of these producers have access to a market beyond selling in cherry to local intermediaries or to large farms who process their coffee and sell it as blended lots to their international market.

To make matters worse, Guatemala offers little to no support to farmers like those in Mataquescuintla. Indeed, Guatemala’s history of coffee production has always erred to the support of major landowners of European or Mestizo descent, and relied upon the forced labour of Indigenous people to claim its place as one of Central America’s largest coffee producers. 

This monopoly not only keeps producers away from the market access they need for truly sustainable prices, but it also keeps them away from technical assistance and education that could propel them forward. As such, producers like Randolfo are left to fend for themselves in this incredible challenging transition from a lifetime of selling in cherry to processing and drying their own coffee for sale as micro-lots. This lack of assistance is only underscored by the closure in the last few years of Anacafe’s technical assistance office in Mataquescuintla. Despite being one of the highest altitude areas in Guatemala, with some of the highest potential quality for coffee, Anacafe chose to remove themselves citing in part the protests against the mine.

Brewing Tips: 

• ICED COFFEE: Perfect as a pour over flash freeze brew. Use large cocktail ice, lower your brewing ratios and then prepare as you usually would! 

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