This lot comes to us through Primavera, who we've been buying Guatemalan coffee from for a few seasons now - their coffee is the backbone of our Equinox espresso. Primavera was started in 2013 by Nadine Rasch, and they've spent the years since building real relationships with small-scale producers in Huehuetenango and Fraijanes, running an agronomy program that works with farmers directly in the field and putting a lot of energy into the next generation of growers in Huehue.
Sugar Plum is a single-farm lot from Elias Pérez Méndez and his farm, La Montaña. It's two bags. That's the whole thing. A lot that small would normally disappear into a regional blend, and a big part of what Primavera does is keep coffees like Elias's separate so they can be tasted - and paid for - on their own merit.
Huehuetenango is one of only three non-volcanic coffee regions in Guatemala and the highest land under cultivation in the country, with coffee growing up to 2,000 meters. At that altitude it should freeze. It doesn't, because hot, dry air sweeps up off the Plains of Tehuantepec in Mexico and runs into the cold air coming down off the Cuchumatanes mountains, and that collision keeps frost out of valleys that would otherwise be too cold for coffee. The region was remote enough for long enough that there was never much central milling, so families process their own coffee right on the farm. That's why the results vary so much farm to farm - which is the fun of buying there, and also the risk.
This year made it harder than usual. Guatemala saw its coldest temperatures in sixteen years during the harvest, cherries took longer to ripen, and picking ran late across the country. Slow ripening costs volume, but it tends to pay you back in sweetness, and you can taste it in this cup.
Sourced through our friends at Primavera.
