FILTER | GUATEMALA FINCA RAMIREZ
TASTE NOTES: Rhubarb . Hazelnut . Cotton Candy
ORIGIN: Guatemala
FARM: Finca Familia Ramirez
LOCATION: Michicoy, Huetenango
VARIETY: Bourbon
PROCESSING: Fully Washed
PRODUCER: Finca Familia Ramirez
ALTITUDE: 1,700 m.a.s.l.
High in Michicoy, San Pedro Necta, in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala, Jacinto Ramirez grows coffee on land his family has farmed for four generations.
At 1,700 meters above sea level, his 10-hectare farm sits within a rare microclimate: warm air drifting east from Mexico's Plains of Tehuantepec meets cool air descending from the Cuchumatanes Mountains, guarding against frost and allowing coffee to thrive at altitudes that would be inhospitable elsewhere. It's this meeting of hot and cold that gives Huehuetenango coffees their signature sparkling acidity and vivid fruit character.
Jacinto farms with an eye toward the long term. His Bourbon trees are intercropped with chalum, a shade tree whose falling leaves double as natural fertilizer, a simple, low-input practice that keeps the soil healthy season after season without leaning on synthetic inputs.
Cherries are handpicked selectively, then pulped on the farm's own drum pulper and fermented for 30 hours before washing. The parchment dries slowly on raised patios over 5 to 8 days, hand-raked for even drying, then rests for roughly two months in Huehuetenango City's low-humidity warehouses before milling, a patient process that lets the coffee's quality settle and develop before export.
This lot is part of a wider network of farms run by Jacinto's extended family, reflecting a model of coffee growing rooted in family stewardship and knowledge passed down through generations, one small but meaningful thread in Guatemala's broader shift toward smallholder-driven, quality-focused specialty coffee.
Brewed as filter, expect a bright, lively cup with the fruit-forward sweetness Huehuetenango is known for, juicy, sparkling acidity balanced by a clean, sugary body. Notes of rhubarb lead the way, layered with toasted hazelnut and a delicate cotton candy sweetness that lingers on the finish. It's a coffee that speaks clearly of its place: high-grown, carefully processed, and full of character.
