AGROBASA MICRO LOT
Region: La Democracia HueHuetenango
Variety: MaragoGype
Altitude: 1400 MASL
Proc Method: Washed
Farm: Buenos Aires Huixoc
This latest Micro Lot offering from Guatemala is a result of our trip this past spring. While Cupping through almost 100 samples, we were able to Identify this Lot as one we wanted to bring home! The road to HueHuetenango is an arduous one! There is no airport close by, so no matter how you get there, you are looking at many long hours in a bus and bumpy, windy roads. However, once you get there you are in the center of the most famous coffee growing region in Guatemala. A region that French Truck has been buying from for the last 5 years. This particular harvest was a very good year for Guatemalan coffee’s and the region of HueHuetenango, specifically. Many of the Microlot samples we tried early on that were cupping at 86-87 are now cupping at 88-89. After a few months post-harvest, they have settled down and are cupping very high!
This year we are proud to offer an exciting micro lot from the producers at Agrobasa. Agrobasa is run by a young couple with a long history of growing coffee in the family. We were able to visit their farm, see them harvesting first hand, and get a sense of their farming practices. For Instance, they built a small reservoir on the farm to enable irrigation of the coffee plants. By doing this they ensured the coffee trees would get the right amount of water and at the right time, to help strengthen the harvest and consistency of flowering. Maybe the most interesting thing about the farm, was they had a herd of goats on the farm, working to help clear the land. Goats are great browsers and they love to eat weeds and invasive plant species. Assuming they don’t eat all the coffee cherries this is a very cool idea!
Finca Buenos Aires sits at a very high altitude, with dry air, and it was previously thought that the altitude was too high to grow coffee. However, with some innovative farming techniques and a lot of hard work the coffees from Agrobasa have been stellar. Another interesting note about this coffee is it’s a Maragogype Varietal. Maragogype is a variety of Arabica that produces a very large bean. It may sound familiar because it is half of the genetic makeup of Pacamara. It is a natural mutation that appeared spontaneously near the town of Maragogype, in the Bahia state of Brazil. The Maragogype is known for its big body and smooth mouthfeel, many famers in Huehue will keep a small amount of Maragogype to drink for themselves!
After Picking, cherries are depulped the same day and fermented dry (without water) for 36 hours. Then they are washed twice, and dried on raised beds for approximately two weeks or until they reach 10-12% moisture. Again, as with many of our previous Micro-lots, this is a fantastic example of a fully traceable farm to cup coffee. We are very excited to be showcasing the hard work from the producers at Agrobasa
