[A word from the roaster]
Around 2,000 meters in elevation, with volcanic-ash soil and the temperature swings of the highlands, these are hard, dense beans. To bring out the clear nature that only washed processing offers, I take my time with a City roast (medium-dark), letting the heat build slowly. It is a stretch of time spent listening for the crack and watching the color of the rising smoke to judge the exact moment to stop.
Bring the cup close and a mellow aroma rises, recalling nuts and bitter chocolate. The mouthfeel is smooth, and from deep within a solid richness a soft sweetness emerges, followed as the temperature drops by a faint, citrus-like fruitiness. The clean aftertaste carries no off-notes, a balance you could drink every day without tiring of it.
Coffee raised by the hands of three generations of the Moras family and by the village-wide effort of San José Poaquil. An honest taste that quietly keeps company with the hours of daily life.
[About the origin]
The Chimaltenango region is highland country spreading to the west of Guatemala City. It sits right between Antigua and Acatenango, two of the eight major coffee-producing areas. Close to the Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes, this land is blessed with volcanic-ash soil, and the temperature swings unique to the highlands have long fostered a fertile environment well suited to growing coffee.
Tomás Moras, the leader of the La Asunción Co-op, is a third-generation coffee farmer in this land. His grandfather moved to the area in the early 19th century and took up farming. At the time, his main livelihood was raising chickens. After long and devoted years of it, he acquired new land here in San José Poaquil. In the 1980s, the Moras family brought Bourbon to this land for the first time and planted it on the farm. The coffee the family lovingly raised grew into an indispensable source of income, both for the Moras family and for neighbors who took up coffee production.
Today the third-generation Tomás Moras carries on the family tradition while refining the farm anew, working energetically to make it better land still. The agricultural cooperative he founded by drawing together many years of effort was named the La Asunción Co-op, after the grandmother who, alongside his grandfather, helped pioneer coffee production in this land. That the many families of San José Poaquil might live better lives through coffee. Together with the farmers of the town, the Moras family presses on toward ever more delicious coffee. Their devoted efforts have spread along with their reputation, catching the eye of companies such as Third Wave Coffee Source, which shines a light on Guatemala's undiscovered producers, and today they receive support aimed at raising quality further.
[Tasting notes]
A mellow aroma recalling nuts and bitter chocolate, a smooth mouthfeel, a solid richness and soft sweetness, and a citrus-like fruitiness that appears as the temperature changes. The clean aftertaste carries no off-notes, and the medium-dark roast draws out the balance of richness and sweetness all the more.
Product Name Guatemala La Asunción Co-op Las Moras Free Washed
Region Chimaltenango region, San José Poaquil
Altitude 1,900 to 2,050m
Producer La Asunción Co-op (Leader: Tomás Moras)
Variety Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí, and others
Process Free Washed (washed processing)
Roast Level City roast (medium-dark)
