Guatemalan

Flavor Characteristics (see Coffee Taste Terms):

• Complexity: Complex - a "busy" flavor
• Acidity: High
• Body: Medium-high mouthfeel, like whole milk
• Aroma: Floral, spicy

Facts about Guatemalan coffee

• Facts: For what it's worth, Guatemalan Coffee is MakeGoodCoffee.com's favorite coffee of the world.
• Region: Latin America, east of Mexico, west of Honduras
• Main growing areas: Antigua, Fraijines, Huehuetenago
• The expert recognizes seven distinct kinds of Guatemalan coffee based on the climatically diverse soil, rainfall, and altitude in what is a relatively small country.
• Antigua is the most celebrated region cultivating coffee in Guatemala today. It is located in a valley between three volcanoes and has near-perfect conditions for growing coffee. Humidity is high and constant. The altitude is high, and annual rainfall is heavy.
• Quality Control: While private estates cultivate this coffee, a state-run board maintains quality and controlled use of the esteemed, Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) designation.

If you like Guatemalan coffee, you might like...

• Sumatran coffee: The two coffees both have very complex flavor and both have high acidity for a bright flavor. They differ somewhat in body, with Sumatran coffee being a little lighter in mouthfeel than Guatemalan, but still medium in body. Sumatran coffee will also have a different aroma; while still complex in flavor, Sumatran will have an earthier aroma and not the spicyness of a Guatemalan coffee.
• Kenyan coffee: Kenyan coffee will be closer to Sumatran coffee than Guatemalan in that it is high in acidity and medium in body. Kenyan coffee does not have as much aromatic quality as either Guatemalan or Sumatran, but it found to be more balanced in its complex flavor so that it still features many different coffee nuances but that are more in balance in the cup.
• Jamaican coffee: Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world, so you might consider a blend that uses Blue Moutain beans rather than pure. The two coffees are very similar in that they have a complex and balanced flavor combined with a medium brightness. The difference is that Blue Moutain coffee can have an earthy (or "dirty") aroma to it while Ethiopian coffee, particularly from Yirgacheffe, is considered to have a more floral aroma.

Guatemalan coffee is available at:

Starbucks and Boca Java