Notes from our Green Buyer

Las Palomas is a group of (mostly women) smallholder producers in the San Pedro Necta region of Huehuetenango, on Guatemala’s western border with Mexico. Their farms, growing Bourbon, Caturra, and Pache varietals, climb high up the mountains between 1800-1950 meters above sea level. Luis Pedro Zelaya and Byron Benavente partner to export some of the best small producers from this region. “Huehue'” is known for amazing coffees from larger producers (like our friends Fredy Morales (Rosma) and Aurelio Villatoro (Villaure & Esperanza), but the remoteness of the region poses difficulty for small producers looking for access to higher quality markets. This market access, through Luis Pedro’s Bella Vista, to our Farm Sourcing program, is extremely important to the farmers to bring in well-deserved prices for their coffees, and it allows us to share their work with you! We think their work is fantastic and that you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.

Notes from our Roaster

When coffees land along the bottom of our flavor dial, at the savory/sweet side of things, the first place we want to taste it is on espresso—especially if it’s a Guatemalan. On this side of the flavor dial, coffees may have a subtle acidity up-front, leaning away from citric and more towards malic. This gives way to fruit notes like apple of pear instead of orange. And you can bet on it extracting nicely as an espresso—partly because of the body; you’ll taste some of those sweet notes, like maple and pastry, which contribute to mouthfeel and texture. Instead of a bright shot, you’ll get a sweet and balanced espresso out of Las Palomas.