The Coffee Buyer’s Guide to Guatemala

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Growing Regions

CBG 1.05 Huehuetenango

The cool temperatures and near-cons‘Huehue’, as it is often called, vies with Antigua for recognition as Guatemala’s best-known coffee region, and it has become more prominent as the demand for high-grown, high-acidity coffee increases. Huehuetenango has the highest-altitude coffee plantations in the country, helped by warm winds that blow across the border from Mexico, which protect the plants from frost. This high altitude means that Huehuetenango produces the fruitiest and most complex coffees in Guatemala. Coffees from the region typically have intense citrusy acidity, with floral, fruity, or winey notes and rich body.tant rain delay the processes of flowering and ripening, and the prolonged harvest season means that cherries must be handpicked in several passes over a long period of time. Conventional drying is all but impossible, and most coffee is dried in mechanical dryers. Furthermore, the remote location and wet conditions mean that transport is difficult and expensive. Nonetheless, Cobán produces some excellent coffees, growing Maragogype alongside the more typical varieties.