Candelaria is located in the Alotenango area , near Antigua. In the past, much of the coffee from this are was sold as Antigua coffee although technically it is not. The farm is at the base of the sweeping ascent to the peak of Volcan de Fuego, with coffee grown between 1220 and 1500 meters. Much of the farm is set aside as natural forest. Candelaria was an old farm that was in poor condition when it came under the ownership and management of Luis Pedro Zelaya Sr. There has been a process of revitalization at Candelaria for some years now, as older trees are heavily pruned back (which takes them our of production for 2 years) or replaced completely with new plant material. Luis Pedro inherited a farm with a severe nematode problem, so all the trees at Candelaria must be grafts with robusta rootstock. The varietals grown are Caturra, Villa Sarchi, Bourbon Anano, and the dwarf Bourboncito. Ungrafted trees of any variety will not survive in these soils. The area has a severe problem with Roya, leaf rust fungus, as well. This has been addressed through localized treatment, pruning of shade trees, and dramatic pruning of every 3rd row of coffee trees to limit humidity and shade. Neighboring farms are decimated by Roya, and the trees look like leafless sticks, whereas Candelaria is thriving. The farm is still very traditional in most ways, using a shading of Grevillea and Inga trees, and processing using the typical wet-process fermentation method. Lote Nueces is a lot we built from daily process batches, based on a flavor profile we were looking for. This is a great crowd-pleaser coffee.

The dry fragrance has hazelnut and chocolate buttercream sweetness. The wet aromatics of the light roast have a maple note and toasted nuts, which fades in darker Full City roast level behind a bittersweet toffee roast aroma. The cup has a striking brightness, something I would call "bracing acidity" that gives the cup a real backbone. By acidity we mean flavor high notes, not acidity that attacks your stomach lining, and by backbone we mean flavor structure, not the taste of cooked backbone. Okay, I jest, or attempt to. The lightest roasts of Candelaria have citrus with a twist of rind in the finish. I really like how this developed in the darker roast level as sweet orange-laced chocolate. The brightness still breaths life into this coffee at darker levels. It's not a super complex coffee, but a great daily drinker, especially with the a good roast treatment. Yet the sweetness persists through the long aftertaste. An early Guatemala arrival of this quality is a godsend. While others are working through old coffee with a faded cup character from last year, a lively new crop coffee is a world of difference.

Guacatepeque is an ancient local name for the area this coffee comes from, a group of small coffee producers in the Alotenango area. The farms are on the rising slopes of the Volcan de Fuego, which has been moderately active in the past few months. The soil in the area is unique, and contains quite a lot of sand and ash from Fuego. Producers must take care to balance this with organic materials to keep the coffee trees in production. Some of the small farms I visited in the area were very casually tended, with large, long-branched old Bourbon trees, unkempt and in need of a good pruning. Other producers were clearly more active, and had been re-planting the trees on a regular cycle to achieve better production and quality. The area these small farmers work in is adjacent to the large La Candelaria farm, in fact they are just upslope from it on the same side of the Fuego volcano. Much of the area is forest preserve, which protects the water supply, as well as providing the much needed organic soil inputs. We find the cup to be uniquely different than other coffees in the zone. We built this lot of Guacatepeque by cupping each day lot batch, looking for a target flavor profile.

This is a classic crowd-pleaser coffee. The dry fragrance has hazelnut, caramel, and some slight herbal sweetness. The wet aromatics have toffee brittle, butter and caramel. The cup has good caramelized-sugar sweetness, especially in the light roast where orange notes and hazelnut roast taste are so complimentary. There is a dark honey taste in the finish, and a hint of cinnamon stick. More developed roasts reveal dark toffee with almonds, milk chocolate and raisin fruit notes. It's not an overly complex coffee, but delicious all the same. And as a new 2013 crop coffee, it blows the top off all the past crop offerings out there. It's lively, clean and fresh. And it makes a great SO espresso as well.

Hacienda Carmona is located in Antigua at 5200-6100 feet altitude. They call the single-farm coffee from Carmona "Cafe Pulcal" which is the name of their mill as well. The farm dates to early colonial times, but coffee was planted in the 1800s when the farm was acquired by the Zelaya family, and first exported in 1918. Carmona is run by Maria Zelaya Aguirre since 1959, and she is the third generation that works and lives at Hacienda Carmona. While Maria certainly cares for her coffee, she is also so fond of her herd of cattle that she has named each one after a name of her friends (human friends, that is), so she is indeed quite a character. Luis Pedro Zelaya helps to manage the coffee at this point, and in fact we tried to visit after I finished my duties at the Cup of Excellence this year, but the explosion of Volcan Pacaya followed by torrential rains meant all routes to the farm were impassible. Carmona is said to have a unique micro-climate in the Antigua valley as well as hillside exposure and well-draining soils. To form this lot, we cupped too many small "day lots" to count, selecting those that had the best sweetness and brightness. Day lots are small harvest batches from particular areas of the farm. We opted for middle-of-the-harvest day lots since even and abundant ripeness means better cherry selection, and these are also from the higher reaches of the farm.

Pulcal is a supremely balanced coffee with equal parts sweetness, body and acidity. Dried dark fruits like prune and raisin protrude from the fragrance along with cacao, and a savory note lingering in the background. The crust is like one of my favorite breakfasts - oatmeal with pecans, dried currants and drizzled with honey. More walnut appears in the break with a bittering note of baker's chocolate. At first sip Pulcal is a silky coffee. It's elegant in terms of the acidity and the way it plays off of the mouth feel. A mandarin note is first apparent - effervescent and crisp - followed by red currant. As the cup cools a distinct baker's chocolate flavor lingers in the finish before a ripe blackberry note appears. This is a versatile coffee that makes a crowd pleasing cup and also makes great SO espresso at more developed roast levels.

Finca Retana is a very traditional farm in central Antigua situated at 1550 meters on the valley floor. This lot is from a small portion of the farm where they grow Yellow Bourbon. Bourbon coffees are named after an island in the Indian Ocean where French colonists originally grew it, now called Reunion. Bourbon coffees tend to ripen earlier than other cultivars, and have a very balanced flavor profile with moderate acidity when cupped with other types planted in the same plot. They seem to have good bean density, and the plant is not stressed to overproduce fruit, unlike some of the modern Catimor hybrids as well as other types. Bourbon trees can remain productive for many years with good care.

This lot of Retana Yellow Bourbon has such sweetness, and with a cleanly fruited profile that lingers pleasantly long after the final sip. The grounds are perfumed with dried stone fruits, apple, and toasted nut. There's also raw honey comb - that waxy/floral smell that brings about a retronasal response. The crust has floral sugar and fresh baked fruit pie, with concord grape and all-spice coming through on the break. Retana makes such a nice cup of coffee. The sweetness grows as the cup cools, and will be a great dessert coffee or daily drinker. There's equal parts caramel and cocoa, that make for a delicious flavor combination. Fruits like fresh peach, plum, and apricot make appearances in the cooling cup. There's also a note of saturated black tea that brings a nice tannic quality to the acidity. This coffee is very versatile and will do best in the City+ to Full City roast realm, really giving the starch content to develop into sugars. The more developed roasts will make an interesting SO espresso.