Guatemala

Las Gardenias Honey

Floral honey from Huehuetenango

A floral and sweet honey processed Marsellesa, with a heavy dried fruit sweetness and a hazelnut finish.

Grown in a vibrant native forest, this floral and sweet honey lot’s process is rather unusual for Huehuetenango.

Producer
Eddy Lopez
Coffee expression
A floral & balanced coffee

Regular price: $22.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $22.00
incl. vat/tax
Regular price: ~~$22.00~~
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Taste description

Aromatic notes of floral honey, a deep dried fruit sweetness, and a finish of rich roasted hazelnut.

Honey

Las Gardenias

This lot was grown by Eddy Lopez in Huehuetenango, a region we have become rather familiar with over the past few harvest seasons. However, Eddy’s farm Las Gardenias is located near the town of Malacatancito, further south than many of the other producers we have worked with, and not far from the regional capital, Huehuetenango City. The climate here is similar, but there is far greater access to resources and knowledge, allowing Eddy to establish a very different business to those seen in rural northern Huehuetenango. He has a larger farm, and has been able to invest in environmental measures and unique varietals in order to differentiate himself from other farmers in the region. The local environment is carefully preserved, with native shade trees, and minimal chemical inputs used. He has been able to conserve the habitat of local wildlife on the farm, including that of Guatemala’s national bird, the Quetzal. Eddy has even invested in certifications in order to cement his environmental work, recently having achieved Rainforest Alliance status on the farm.

This lot is of the Marsellesa varietal, a seldom used Sarchimor hybrid, a cross between high yielding and disease resistant Timor Robusta Hybrids and the high quality Villa Sarchi, often seen in Costa Rica. Marsellesa is known for having a higher acidity than other Sarchimor cultivars. Another way Eddy differentiates himself is through processing; we have purchased natural lots from Eddy in the past, but this is the first honey lot we have ever purchased from Huehuetenango.

Eddy takes biodiversity and organic principles seriously, building a balanced eco-system with native shade trees.

Guatemala

Huehuetenango

Huehuetenango is located in the north-western highlands of Guatemala, and borders with Mexico. It is home to the highest altitudes in all of Central America, due to the presence of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountain range, which peaks at 3837 masl. This creates lots of high altitude land to grow high-quality coffee, an important crop in an area where agriculture is the largest industry. A dry hot wind also blows in from the Tehuantepec plain in Mexico to the north, which protects crops from frost, allowing coffee to grow even higher up the slopes, often above 2000 masl. These high altitudes also lead to very beautiful scenery, something the area is known for, but also to a remoteness not found elsewhere in Guatemala. 9 different ancient Mayan dialects are still spoken here, and the region is home to some of the best preserved examples of Mayan architecture.

The remoteness also makes sourcing coffee a challenge here, the journey to farms often takes days over unforgiving terrain, and would-be coffee buyers require knowledge of the local dialects, or an experienced guide. We have visited our Guatemalan partners at Primavera for the past six years, and have been stunned by the beauty of both the coffees they have been sourcing, and of this captivating region.

Technical Data

Producer
Eddy Lopez
Region
Huehuetenango
Altitude
1900 masl
Varietal
Marsellesa
Process
Honey
Harvest
March 2022

Honey Process

With the honey process a certain amount of mucilage and pulp are allowed to remain on the coffee bean during depulping. The cover will stay with the bean during fermentation and drying thereby contributing to the sugars absorbed by the bean and affecting the flavour notes of the final cup. The amount of mucilage remaining defines the type of honey process - white, yellow, red or black in ascending order of mucilage concentration. If they are processed properly, the coffees can take on quite a lot of sweetness and flavours while remaining clean.

Raised drying beds (sometimes referred to as African drying beds) are often preferable when working with honey processed coffees, because of the additional airflow they allow. The air ensures that the beans dry evenly and reduces the incidence of fungi and bacteria formation. On the other hand, some farmers are accustomed to using sun-exposed patio drying that require a regular raking of beans to avoid moulds. While total fermentation and drying time depend on such choices as well as ambient temperature and moisture levels, red honey processing easily needs two weeks from depulping until drying has completed.