Named for its beautiful views over the town of Santa Rose, Buena Vista is a brand new addition to our portfolio. On the plateau that surrounds the Guatemalan capital, producer Fredy Orantes nurtures superb terroir that benefits from high altitude and volcanic soil. The large Pacamara varietal is rare in Guatemala. After 48 hours of fermentation, the profile is alive with the funky sweetness of ripe passionfruit, prune, and banana.
The Cup This exciting lot has the beautiful complexity the Pacamara varietal is known for. A long fermentation has developed juicy notes of passion fruit, yellow stone fruit, and prune. High in sweetness, a hint of gooseberry acidity cuts through as it cools. On the palate, Buena Vista is creamy with a lingering finish.
The Farm
Close to the capital - Guatemala City - this is one of our favourite Guatemalan coffees of the season. Fredy Orantes is a true leader among the coffee growers in the town of Santa Rosa, and has worked tirelessly to maintain high standards in the field and during the harvest in order to produce the best possible coffees. Fredy is an expert with both larger lots and small microlots, and every aspect of coffee picking and processing is done with care in order to ensure top quality.
Fredy is always thinking about sustainability on the farm. He actively cares for the variety of trees on the farm - grevillea and cuje are the most numerous but he also maintains other types of fruit trees and native trees. The soil is carefully maintained, and soil management includes the application of organic materials that have been composted such as fallen leaves and branches as well as coffee pulp. A variety of native animals and birds appear on the farm, and Fredy explains that the farm is not even fenced in; as in nature these creatures can come and go as they please.
Fredy loves experimenting with different varieties and processes, and this lot is the perfect example of his efforts. He added about 1 hectare of Pacamara plants to his farm in 2019, and they have begun producing the large, red fruit for this lot
The Process
After a very careful picking, with workers choosing only the ripest cherries, the coffee is placed into clean sacks for a fermentation of about 48 hours. When this fermentation period is over, Fredy adds the coffee to his raised beds, positioned to take advantage of the abundant sunlight of Fraijanes.
The coffee dries on these beds for about 18-20 days, with frequent turning to encourage thorough and even drying. Then, the coffee is stored until it can be delivered to our mill for dehulling and export.