Guatemala | Huehuetenango - Xibalbá AA

Cup characteristics: Apple, Dried Fruit, Chocolate

Process | Washed

Varietal | Caturra

MASL |  1500 - 1850

The producers who contribute to these beans grow coffee in the steep mountains to Huehuetenango, an area that is believed to have several access points to Xibalá. Many coffee farmers and farm workers behind this coffee are members of the Man and K'iche' Indigenous communities, which are essential to the county's coffee culture and identity. 

Each farm that contributes to Xibalbá grows permanent (fruit-bearing plants) and temporary shade plants (ingas) that also serve as windbreakers. Here farmers focus on selective harvesting and process the coffee in their micro-mills the same day it's harvested. The infrastructure in this region is a mix of artisanal  or motorised pulpers with a higher processing capacity per hour. Most farmers have found their own fermentation "recipe" that works for the varieties they grow. Depending on weather conditions, they ferment for 24 to 26 hours in plastic or concrete tanks to produce sweet & consistent coffee.