Guatemala; Huehuetenango, Jacaltenango

Grown at 2,000 Metres. Roasted This Morning. Ruined Your Old Coffee Forever. Mandarin brightness, dark chocolate depth, and 186 smallholder families behind every bag. This is what happens when we stop blending and let one place do the talking. Huehuetenango sits in Guatemala’s north-west highlands, and it’s the reason single origin coffee has a reputation in the first place. Hot, dry winds sweep in off the plains of Mexico and hold the frost back, which lets coffee grow higher here than almost anywhere else in the country; 1,800 to 2,000 metres, on mineral-rich clay soils. Higher altitude means slower cherry development. Slower development means denser beans, more sugar, and the kind of complexity you can’t fake with a dark roast and a prayer. Our lot comes from Cooperativa Río Azul in Jacaltenango, 186 smallholder growers, each farming plots you could walk across in a few minutes. Cherries are fully washed and sun-dried on patios, the old-fashioned way, turned by hand until they’re exactly right. In the cup: orange, red berries, dark chocolate and caramel. A mandarin-like acidity leads the charge, then rolls into a smooth, full body and finishes long on dark chocolate and roasted almond. Bright enough for the filter crowd. Sweet enough that your flat white drinkers won’t know what hit them.