Guatemala Coffee Overview

The Coffee Growing Regions of Guatemala

There are diverse growing regions within Guatemala that have the altitude, soil and climate conditions to produce great coffee. Antigua is home to some of the older estates in Latin American coffee, some handed down from original land grants within the same family.

In Antigua you might see the best, most systematic farm management methods employed on some farms, while just over the fence a neighbors coffee receives little care, and near leafless coffee shrubs seem forlorn and abandoned. This might be due to complexThe co-presence of many aroma and flavor attributes, with multiple layers. A general impression of a coffee, similar to judgments such as “balanced” or “structured” land-sharing arrangements, as more and more heirs from old families must cooperate to effectively manage the family farm without a genuine interest in coffee farming.

In other cases, well-educated offspring might have attended the elite Latin American agronomyScience and study of crops and soils: A branch of agriculture dealing with field-crop production, soil management and physiology of crop plants as its focus. schools of Zamorano in HondurasHonduran coffee was absent from the top ranks of the Specialty market, but that has changed. It has all the environmental factors on its side: soil, altitude, climate…., or EARTH in Costa RicaCosta Rican coffee is typically very clean, sweet, with lots of floral accents. hey are prized for their high notes: bright citrus or berry-like flavors in the acidity,…. These farms are well prepared to increase volume, cup quality, and fight the battle against the leaf fungus (RoyaCastillo is a selection of the Colombia cultivar that has become the most commonly grown coffee in Colombia. It is preferred to the older resistant variety, Variedad Colombia…).

With land values increasing and Guatemala City sprawling over an ever-wider swath of land, you see coffee farms face difficult decisions in Antigua, as well as those near the capital, such as Fraijanes, or those around Lake Atitlan. They could sell land for housing development, or for business development to serve the city, rather than farm coffee.

Farms also face competition for their labor force, as more job options outside agriculture offer better salaries and (sometimes) better futures. Younger generations show less interest in coffee farming, unless it can offer better returns. While the hectaresWe use this metric term often to discuss the size of coffee farms. 1 Hectare = 10000 Square Meters = 2.471 acres: We use this metric term often… dedicated to coffee farming in Fraijanes are dropping, it seems that other areas with rising populations are holding steady at present.

Acatenango is near Antigua and for years they were sold as “Antigua-type” coffee. Small farmers still deliver coffee or sell to coyotes (coffee-buyers who drive around in trucks paying ready cash for coffee) who deliver to mills in Antigua. There is still a premium for Antigua coffee, but this is dwindling as buyers realize that Acatenango and other nearby areas (Jocotenango, Alotenango, Patzun, Chimaltenango) all have fine coffees in their own right.

Acatenango has been the epicenter of the Roya blight for the past 2 years, severely affected because of the humidity of the Pacific ocean climatic influence on this zone. Roya is the Spanish name for Rust, a leaf fungus that slowly kills the plant if left untreated. I have an in-depth article on Roya.

Huehuetenango from the northern highlands up to the border with MexicoMexican coffee originates from South-central to Southern regions of the country. For that reason, coffees from Coatepec and Veracruz are much different from Oaxacan Plumas, which are in… can be exceptional and brightly acidic. Atitlan, Fraijanes and Quiche can all produce top lots, but we have less consistent success in those areas for various reasons. We have not found good Coban coffees for years, but the potential is there. It’s a humid area, which creates problem with effective drying of the coffee after wet-processing.