Tasting Notes: Brown Sugar, Almond, Butterscotch
Region: Antigua Valley, Sacatepéquez department, Guatemala
Growing Elevation: 1,500 -1,650 MASL
Producer: Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora
Varieties: Bourbon, Dwarf Bourbon, Red Caturra, Yellow Caturra, Catimor hybrids
Process: Washed
We sourced this unique offering from our friends at Royal Coffee. After sampling a few different options for a new single origin, this washed Guatemalan stood out to us the most. We were especially excited to learn that this coffee belonged to Luis Pedro Zelaya, a well-renowned producer in Antigua. The cup is full of warm and inviting flavors - roasted almonds, brown sugar, and butterscotch candy. The acidity presents itself as a rounded citrus flavor with medium-low intensity and the body is smooth and creamy. Overall, this coffee is full of sweetness and well balanced. Grab a bag online or stop by our cafe to try it out!
Luis Pedro Zelaya (LPZ) is a fourth-generation producer and miller who has established one of the best quality reputations in the country over the last 20 years. He now runs Bella Vista, the wet and dry mill in Antigua. Bella Vista services the coffee produced from his own family estates and numerous other legacy farms. As a result of relentless perfectionism from harvest management to dry-milling and customer service, the brands designed and produced by LPZ and his quality team, particularly Bella Carmona and Hunapú, are some of the best-recognized Central American coffees in the specialty world.
Cherry is delivered daily at Bella Vista from all over the valley. Processing is separated into numerous channels that represent Bella Carmona farms, Hunapú farms, and microlots such as single estates, single smallholders, or growers from elsewhere in Guatemala that Bella Vista represents. Once inspected and weighed, cherry is depulped and fermented overnight in one of the mill’s many tanks, washed clean the next day, and patio-dried.
