Guatemala | Espresso

APIE RIO AZUL

This coffee comes from the Rio Azul cooperative in the municipality of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. This region is located at the foot of the Cuchumatanes mountains, the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. A mixture of thermal hotspots and cool massifs protects the area from freezing, which provides the right conditions for coffee to grow up to 2 000 m above sea level. Huehuetenango’s coffee is considered one of the highest quality in Guatemala.
“Rio Azul is made up of 400 small farms with an average size of 0.8 ha. They primarily grow coffee, but also grow maize and beans for the farmers’ personal consumption. Due to the limited resources available for coffee processing, the farmers work with Unitrade Coffee, an export company that operates a processing mill in Huehuetenango. Unitrade has not only facilitated access to international markets, but has also set up CoffeeCare, an organisation dedicated to the education, nutrition and health of farmers and their children.

WET TREATMENT

This is one of the usual coffee processing operations, and strict hygiene standards are strictly observed during the harvest. The freshly picked coffee is prepared between 2pm and 9pm. The washing process takes place the following morning. The coffee is transferred to the wet mill, where it is cleaned of floating berries and foreign objects. The pulp is then separated from the beans using a depulper.
The next step is drying, which takes place until the coffee’s humidity level reaches 12 %. A sample from each dried batch is sent to the quality control department to check the taste and quality of the coffee. The beans are stored with the outer shell, which is the natural protection of the stone, in bags for 40 to 60 days, which is the stabilisation period. They are cleaned in a dehulling machine before being sent for export.