Guatemala Finca Alejandrina

Guadalupe Bautista is a smallholder producer in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, a region where the majority of the local economy is related either directly or indirectly to coffee. Her farm, Finca Alejandrina, is 14 hectares in size, just over 13 of which are planted with coffee. She grows Bourbon, Catura, and Green and Red Pache. For washed lots, the coffee is picked ripe and depulped the same day, then fermented for 40 hours before being washed three times. Drying takes 6-10 days on concrete patios, depending on the weather. Huehuetenango is located in Western Guatemala bordering Mexico, it is probably the most famous coffee growing region, and the most difficult to pronounce; it is generally said “way-way-ten-AN-go”. It has the highest altitudes in the country, as high as 2,000 meters. Citrus acidity, full body, and toffee sweetness mark these coffees, which tend to be the most fruit-forward and can be the most complex of what Guatemala has to offer.