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C-Market: $2.28 USD

Guatemala Huehuetenango Regional Blend

Cup notes available upon arrival
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Bag Weight 69 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2021/22
Status Spot
Lot Number P608905-1
  • Out of Stock Bag(s)
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About This Coffee

To taste Huehuetenango coffee is to taste what amounts to the foothills of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, a mountain range covering over 6,000 square miles and reaching heights of 12,500 feet (over 3,800 masl), the highest peaks being in Huehuetenango. The Cuchumatanes are the highest non-volcanic mountains in Central America. It is said that the unique climates of Huehuetenango (the Chuchumatanes are home to several distinct biomes) results in part from the clash of cool air from the high mountains and warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, blowing across the hot lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This causes “tropical highland” conditions and permits coffee-growing upslope from traditional coffee cultivating altitudes, as high as 2,000 masl, and protects the region from frost. Although the highlands of Huehue are dryer than most Guatemalan coffee growing regions in terms of rain, the area is rich in rivers and streams and is home to cloud forests. 

Country of Origin Guatemala
Harvest Season 2021/22
Coffee Grade GTM CA WA SHB HH
Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species Arabica
Processing Washed
Variety Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, Pache
Region Huehuetenango
Farm Name Various smallholders

History of Coffee in Guatemala

Although coffee was brought over from the Caribbean in the mid-18th century by Jesuit priests, it was used primarily as an ornamental plant and garden crop for 100 years in Guatemala. Coffee wasn’t widely traded, however, until commercial production began in the 1850s. The volcanic soil and various micro-climates proved ideal for growing coffee in Guatemala. Coffee, within a generation, became the country’s most important crop. In 1860, Guatemala exported 140,000 pounds of coffee, and just 25 years later, the country was exporting over 40 million pounds. Large numbers of coffee farmers were German immigrants responsible for many inventions and innovations related to coffee milling. Most of Guatemala’s coffee was exported to Germany until the First World War, when exports shifted to the United States.

Growing Coffee in Guatemala

Coffee farming practices are similar to other countries in the region, but Guatemala has an abundance of water, volcanic soil, and very distinct micro-climates compared to its neighbors. Although late to coffee, Guatemala recognized and responded to the needs of the emerging specialty coffee sector earlier than most coffee-producing regions. Anacafé, the coffee producers association in Guatemala, identifies seven growing regions: Fraijanes, the plateau south of Guatemala City; Coban, a rainforest region in the center of the country; Huehuetenango, highlands near the border with Mexico; Atitlan, primarily the volcanic mountains on the Pacific side of Lake Atitlan; San Marcos, between Huehuetenango and the Pacific Ocean; Oriente, the driest of the growing regions located near the eastern border with Honduras; and the most famous of all, Antigua, nestled among the volcanoes an hour’s drive southwest of Guatemala City.

  • Region Huehuetenango
  • Farm Name Various smallholders
  • Processing Washed
  • Bag Type Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra, Pache
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot No
  • Status Spot
  • Coffee Grade GTM CA WA SHB HH
  • CTRM Contract Number P608905-1
  • Country of Origin Guatemala
  • Warehouse Continental NJ
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