Guatemala Huehuetenango

This balanced coffee comes from the Regional Select program for Huehuetenango in the Waykan region of Guatemala. The mild fruity acidity, reminiscent of berries and cane sugar, is balanced by the sweet notes of toffee and nuts.

In the Maya Q’qnjobal dialect in the region, “waykan” mens “star, or light that shines in the sky at night.” The indigenous population in and around Huehuetenango plays a large role in the coffee production here, and coffee accounts either directly or indirectly for roughly 80 percent of the local economy.

Most farmers are smallholders who are either working independently of one another, loosely
associated by proximity and cultural ties, or formally affiliated in cooperative associations.

Huehuetenango is located in Western Guatemala bordering Mexico. It is extremely diverse and known for producing some of the best coffees in Latin America due to its climate, altitude, water sources, and traditional varieties. A range of offerings come out of Huehuetenango, including chocolatey volume offerings and fruit-forward microlots.

The Washed process varies greatly across the growing regions of Guatemala due in large part to the different terroir and terrain that exists from place to place there, but for the most part the primary difference in style is in the length of time that the coffee is allowed to ferment. Generally speaking, coffee is picked ripe and depulped the same or the following day, then
allowed to ferment for anywhere between 12–48 hours, depending on the climate. The coffee is then washed clean of its mucilage and spread on patios or raised beds to dry.

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