Guatemala Nuevo Oriente El Canchon SHB EP

Sourcing details.

Most look to western Guatemala for coffee, but there is something exciting to offer from the southeastern part of the country.  Exporter San Miguel has been exploring new frontiers for specialty coffee and discovered a region on the road less traveled south-east of Guatemala City in the department of Santa Rosa. The region has a rich history of small farming communities where coffee is cultivated on small plots that average 3 acres in size. San Miguel sources from a group of producers who focus their efforts on improving farm management and best cherry harvesting practices.

Processing Details:

With little to no processing infrastructure for processing at the farmers, San Miguel provides a centrally located collection point where farmers can easily deliver their cherry.  From there, the cherry is transported to a mill designed for receiving and processing cherries from the small farms in the region.  The daily delivery of cherries are floated to separate out damaged and less dense beans and then depulped.  The depulped coffee seeds are fermented in  tanks for up to 18 hours and washed.  The mill is equipped with patios and mechanical dryers (guardiolas) that are used in a two step process, first with gentle pre-drying on patios and then precisely finished to 11 percent moisture with the mechanical driers.

Exporting Details:

Dried parchment is taken to a dry mill in Guatemala City, which is equipped with multiple pieces of equipment to sort green coffee typical in most dry mills, such as gravity beds, screens and electronic color sorters. Mild weather in Guatemala City provides ideal conditions for storing parchment in the warehouse until it is time to export.  San Miguel also has an experienced team dedicated to maintaining traceability and ensuring quality control. The experience brought to bear by San Miguel makes this newly discovered regional profile shine.