Guatemala Acatenango Finca La Soledad
Guatemala Acatenango Finca La Soledad
Farm Description
Finca La Soledad has been a Pérez family coffee farm since 1895, named in honor of a Perez grandmother, Soledad. Beyond simply inheriting a farm in a great micro-climate and altitude for coffee, the Perez family has shown great dedication to care for the trees, rebuild the mill to the highest ecological standards, and optimize the cup quality of their coffees. I have visited this farm the past 3 seasons, and I am so happy with the lot we are offering here. Henio and his son Raul work intensively on the farm, and Raul has been roasting and cupping samples regularly to master the quality control of their coffee. It might be surprising, but there are very few coffee farmers that are true cuppers of their own production! SCAA Roaster's Guild group spent time here on their Guatemala tour, and I was told that the coffee served was the best some had ever tasted while at a coffee farm. Bright yet balanced, sweet yet with a pleasant bittersweet tang as well, dense in it's mouthfeel, a great exemplar of the Guatemala flavor profile.
This coffee is part of our Farm Gate pricing program.Cupping Notes
The dry fragrance has a vibrant fruit/nut flavor; a chocolate-coated raisin, hazelnut scent. At darker levels chocolate bittersweet notes dominate, with traces of warming spice and clove. The aroma from the wet grounds has most of the same attributes, adding only a malt-o-meal sweet scent in the lighter roasts and some "brown bread on the hearth" smells at Full City roast. There is also a floral hibiscus scent. The aromatics are classic, clean, balanced Central America all the way, and the cup flavor follow suit. There is a grain-like sweetness in the lighter roasts, almond and apricot high notes; a pleasant cup with sweetened hot cereal character. At City+ roast a more rounded flavor profile emerges, with a dense mouthfeel, a more developed sweetness, but still apricot-nut flavors at the foreground. Now something else quite exciting about this Finca La Soldedad lot, the single origin espresso is fantastic! Roasted just to the verge of 2nd crack, perhaps a few snaps into it, the espresso is bright, creamy, dense, sweet, chocolaty, silky. I enjoyed some shots at lighter roasts that were very citric and intense, but perhaps a little bright for some palates.

