Puerta Verde is a 4th generation family-run coffee farm in the Ciudad Vieja (Old City) Antigua, Guatemala. It is named for the green door that marks the entrance to the coffee farm. It's a medium-sized farm at 41 hectares, and like all Antigua coffees has great altitude (1539 meters). Since they don't have a wet mill, the coffee is processed by the respected Zelaya family nearby (Bella Carmona estate). It was also graced with 7th place for a lot entered in the '09 Guatemala Cup of Excellence. I haven't been thrilled with Antigua coffees as of late, although there are certainly some nice ones. The Finca Retana Yellow Bourbon did not come through last year, and many of the large lots sold via brokers are pooled coffees that, honestly, are not truly Antiguas. When the mills in the area buy coffee cherry, it might be Antigua, or it might be from Acatenango or Chimaltenango or elsewhere. They have attempted to certify Antigua appellation coffees, but it's another fee that adds to the cost, and many aren't willing to bear it. The best way to get a great Antigua is to buy from a known small farm, and that's the case here. Puerta Verde is a really nice cup this year, and lined up against other Antiguas, has a very nice sweet fruit quality. The dry fragrance at optimal roast levels (City+) has a remarkable sweet - bittersweet balance. There's an intense chocolate scent, as well as butter and caramel soft hints, along with a slight trace of cedar. To this, the wet aroma adds a touch of sandalwood, hop flower and malt stout beer. In the cup, intense bittersweet notes are balanced by creamy body. It's a classic Bourbon cup, dense mouthfeel, restrained flavors, classic Central America brightness and balance. When lined up with other Antigua lots in particular, traces of fruit are evident; apple notes at City+ and dark berry at Full City roast levels.



View Cupping Scores Hide Cupping Scores

This has been a favorite coffee at Sweet Maria's for several years now, and will be in the future, I am sure. Even before we had a relationship with the farm, I had been trying to buy this lot for years, and it's one of my favorite Guatemala farms, a classic, traditional coffee. The farm is from an original land grant of 1623, and the owners have now grown coffee here for 5 generations. It's a very Bourbon-like, high altitude coffee, and has an unusual roast dynamic. And as a confirmation of the great cup quality (not that it is needed here but ...) this farm won #2 spot in the 2007 Guatemala Cup of Excellence. (They didn't have any excess coffee to enter a lot in '08 or '09). You can literally see what a dense, high-grown coffee it is as you roast it: small, dense little seeds that almost seem to shrink like raisins, the creases depending and darkening, before it reaches Full City roast. That compact form, tight crease, and resistance to expansion hints at Bourbon cultivar (there is some Catuai in the mix), and slow, steady maturation on the tree. That's what happens when you grow coffee way up at 1900 meters. I found this coffee has a very wide range of roasts that have great results, from a light City roast through Full City+. The lighter roasts have a punctuated fruitiness to them, bright tannic grape, floral aromatics, and sweet malt syrup roast taste. I really enjoyed watching this coffee take on a bit more color, passing into the Full City range, but not into 2nd crack at all. Here there is a unique balance between chocolate, toffee and raisin sweetness, with mild spice hints, concord grape, berry, and a floral scents (potpourri). All these qualities are moderate in quantity, against the backdrop of a "restrained" cup character overall. This is not a loud coffee, a fruit bomb, a Gesha type. It's a classic high-grown Guatemala. As a cupper, this coffee exudes immense cup quality, as a roaster you can see that dense, tight-fisted little bean take on heat and color just beautifully, and as a guy who just likes a great cup of coffee, this is one I take home on the weekend. We have also found it can make for some excellent SO espresso, or as a blend accent.

This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

View Cupping Scores Hide Cupping Scores

Huehuetenango has some extraordinary coffee farms, and we have offered so many in the past: El Injerto, Huixoc, Injertal, and this one, Finca La Maravilla. I remember when we first offered this estate coffee, it's nicely fruited flavors and citrus brightness. So after several years of hiatus, we have it again, and it's every bit as good as the Maravilla of my memory. The farm is located very near El Injerto, in the La Libertad area of the state of Huehuetenango in Guatemala's north. The farm is owned by Mauricio Rosales and ranges from a very high 1500 meters all the way to 1850 meters. It is a bright coffee, a little lighter in body and less balanced perhaps than some of our other Guatemala offerings. But that is what makes it so special as well. The fragrance from the dry grounds has raisin and fig fruited notes, and a dark-toned sweetness. Adding hot water, the wet aromatics leap to life; caramel apple, pecans, with a zest of orange and red grape. The cup flavors are outstanding: This coffee has an ebullient brightness, sweet fruited notes, mild sweet chocolate-dipped nuts. The body is medium-to-light, which suits the lively nature of this cup well. (Light body with a heavy, rustic earthy Sumatra flavor profile would be odd, but with a higher-toned, refreshing coffee is seems appropriate). At C+ roast there is a nice bittersweet root beer note that develops into soft mild chocolate flavor at Full City roast level. As it cools there are nutty roast tones that come out, apple flavors, with a lingering citrus acidic snap to the cup. At Full City levels I am able to coax some darker berry notes from the cup. I have yet to pull an SO shot but hear from a top barista that it can be fantastic, and will try as soon as my roasts are properly rested.



View Cupping Scores Hide Cupping Scores