Guatemala
Huehuetenango
Smallholder Producers
Smallholder Farms
Caturra, Bourbon, Typica, Catuai, Catimor, Sarchimor, Pache, Pacamara
Washed
January–April
Brown Sugar, Malt, Molasses, Citric
1500 meters
N/A
69 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Ally’s Core Coffee from Guatemala is named for the country’s national tree, the Ceiba. In early Mayan and Mesoamerican cultures, the Ceiba symbolized the connection between land and sky. The Ceiba lot from Huehuetenango is a community coffee, investing in sustainable sourcing to benefit a large group of producers. The cup profile boasts a rich floral and berry aroma and is full of chocolate, lemon, and raspberry, with a creamy body thanks to the specific Huehuetenango terroir.
Our sourcing partner for Ceiba, Unitrade Coffee, maintains a close connection with producers and is active in improving regional coffee infrastructure. After the leaf rust epidemic several years ago, Huehuetenango is still recovering and Unitrade’s support of producers has been crucial to keeping family farms in operation. Coffee from the mountain communities around Huehuetenango is specifically selected for its fruity profile.
Ceiba is sourced from the following regions in the Huehuetenango Department:
· San Antonio Huista
· Union Cantinil
· Jacaltenango
· Cuilco
· La Libertad
· La Democracia
· San Pedro Necta
· Santa Barbara
This lot of Ceiba was decaffeinated using the CO2 decaffeination process. CO2 decaffeination begins with moistening the green coffee with water before it is added to the vessel in which it will be decaffeinated. Pressurized liquid carbon dioxide is added to the vessel and is circulated through the coffee. CO2 is a highly selective solvent for caffeine, so as it is circulated it extracts caffeine from the green coffee, leaving most all other compounds unaltered. The liquid CO2 is moved into an evaporator where caffeine precipitates from the solution. CO2 is then evaporated, recondensed, and cycled back through the green coffee. This process is repeated until the desired level of decaffeination is reached. Finally, the decaffeinated coffee is moved into a dryer where it is dried back to its original moisture content.
Read more about our Core Coffee program, Ceiba Core Coffee, and check out field notes from sourcing Ceiba.
Huehuetenango is located in the rocky Western highlands of Guatemala bordering Mexico. Thanks to the elevation and varied microclimates of this mountainous region, coffee from Huehuetenango is well known worldwide for its bright and crisp acidity.
Huehuetenango lies in the Los Cuchumatanes mountain range, the highest point of which is known as “La Torre,” which reaches almost 3800 meters above sea level. Of the three non-volcanic coffee growing regions of Guatemala, Huehuetenango is the highest and driest under cultivation. Thanks to the dry, hot winds that blow into the mountains from Mexico’s Tehuantepec plain, the region is protected from frost, allowing coffee in Huehuetenango to be cultivated up to 2000 meters. The cool, crisp winds from the Cuchumatanes help moderate the temperature, which ranges from 20 to 24 degrees Celsius.
