Jalapa Fully Washed

Jalapa, Guatemala’s rich soils and high altitudes are ideal for growing high-quality coffee. The region is, perhaps, less well-known than Guatemala’s more renowned coffee regions of Antigua, Acatenango and Huehuetenango, but the climate here lends itself to high grown Arabica production just as well. This relative anonymity is part of what makes this coffee such great value.

Farms in the region are overwhelmingly small-scale (usually under 5 hectares) and usually are managed with the entire family pitching in at key points during the year. Coffee is shade-grown and most families still grow ‘traditional’ varieties, such as Bourbon and Typica, though resistant varieties are slowly being introduced. Coffee is the main cash crop for most families, where the majority of other agriculture is geared towards subsistence. Crops such as maize and beans are common.

The harvest season sees most family members pitching in to help bring the coffee to be processed. Usually, coffee floated in buckets to remove underweights or is sorted by hand before being pulped on a small pulper on the family farm. Coffee is then fermented overnight in buckets or concrete tanks before being fully washed of all traces of mucilage. The parchment is then laid to dry on patios or mats. Coffee will be raked regularly until it reaches the optimal humidity, at which point it will be bagged and delivered to the local warehouse as parchment.