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Guatemala

Marta Dominguez

Fresh herbals and crisp citrus

Marta Dominguez farms coffee together with her family on a small plot in Huehuetenango, in northern Guatemala.

This lot has some fresh and clear herbal aromatics, alongside crisp citrus in the cup.

Producer
Marta Dominguez
Coffee expression
A floral & acidic coffee

Regular price: $22.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $22.00
incl. vat/tax
Regular price: ~~$22.00~~
Unit price: per

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Marta Dominguez farms coffee together with her family on a small plot in Huehuetenango, in northern Guatemala

Bourbon & Caturra

Marta Neli Dominguez

Marta Neli Dominguez works with her family on their tiny plot of land in the rural Huehuetenango region. Marta is a second generation coffee producer, having inherited her land from her parents, and she hopes to pass on her passion to her children. She felt encouraged to follow her interest in agriculture by her parents, so has experienced what it is like to manage a farm from an early age. Over the past couple of harvests, Marta has sold directly to Primavera’s roastery in Guatemala City, La Central de Café, and her interest in growing the quality of her coffee has only increased. This also leads to a more sustainable business, one which she is yet more motivated to pass on to her children.

This lot, a mix of Bourbon and Caturra, was picked and processed by Marta and her family. They have no fixed wet mill, so often move their plastic tanks and hand cranked de-pulper around the farm to follow the harvest. After de-pulping, the coffee is fermented in these small plastic tanks for around 30 hours, before being washed and dried on patios near the house. The coffee is turned often, to ensure an even drying in rather cool conditions at over 1600 masl. This approach to fermentation creates a soft yet fresh cup, with fresh herbal aromatics and a crisp citrus acidity.

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 and worked with our Guatemalan partners at Primavera for the past four years, and have been stunned by the beauty of both the coffees they have been sourcing, and of this captivating region.

Technical Data

Producer
Marta Neli Dominguez
Region
Huehuetenango
Altitude
1650 masl
Varietal
Bourbon, Caturrra
Process
Washed
Harvest
January 2022

Washed Process

The washed process involves completely removing both the cherry and the mucilage from the outside of the parchment with the use of friction, fermentation and water. After being harvested, the coffee cherry is then sliced open by either a metal or a sharp plastic blade.

The two seeds (also known as beans) are pushed out of the cherry, which leaves the seed with mucilage as their outermost layer. It is essential in the washed process that all mucilage is removed from the seed which leaves only the flavour that developed in the cell structure of the seed prior to processing.