Guatemala Candelaria Select

Country: Guatemala
Region: San Antonio Huista, Huehuetenango
Varietal: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí, Pache
Producer: Various Smallholder Farmers
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,500 - 1,900 MASL
Cupping Notes: Caramel, Nougat, Red Apple, Walnut

Description: Candelaria gets its name from the Cenotes de Candelaria, a magical area of natural pools with waters that change color from turquoise blue to light green. We’ve never been to these pools, but it’s on our list for our next visit to Huehue. Huehuetenango itself is the highest growing region in Guatemala, and one of the three that are not volcanic. The drive from Guatemala City is long, but really beautiful. We did it in the back of an oversized truck bed, which sounds rough, but on the dirt roads, standing, holding onto a railing is much more comfortable than bouncing around inside the vehicle's cabin. The area has lots of rivers and streams, and you pass through a number of small towns where you fill up on gas, and in our experience, grab delicious homemade tamales. The natural water in the area serves producers well, with the remoteness of Huehue, most producers have to process all of their own coffee where they’ll make use of that fresh water. This region has many microclimates with warm air sweeping up from the Plains of Tehuantepec in Mexico to the cool air descending from the Cuchumatanes Mountains. The unique climates allow the region to grow coffee at very high elevations for Guatemala.

This lot is organized by our export and milling partner, Dinamica. The various small holder producers who contribute to this lot handle their own growing, wet milling, and drying. Once the coffee is dried to the proper moisture content it is delivered to Dinamica’s facility in Guatemala City where the coffee goes through destoning, hulling, and then sorting by color and screen size.

The Bodhi Team loved this one on the table when cupping arrivals. It’s a solid coffee for use in blends, and is a great representation of the region’s flavor profile.