Crema Trekkers: Exploring Finca El Injerto, Guatemala

21 Dec 2017

Exploring Finca El Injerto Guatemala with Crema Trekkers

GUATEMALAN COFFEE BEANS

From all the coffee plants grown on Finca El Injerto, Guatemala, we have selected the Pacamara, grown at altitudes of 1,700-1,800m above sea level and is processed using a fully washed process.

Pacamara is a unique cross hybrid between Pacas Coffee (which is a Bourbon mutation itself) and Maragogipe Coffee (also known as the Elephant Coffee Bean). Pacamara is recognizable by its large, canoe-shaped beans, outstanding sweet citric flavours, extraordinary mouthfeel and balance, and floral-hinted fragrance.

This coffee is grown and processed by the Aguirres, a father and son team who run the best coffee-growing operation in Guatemala – and one of the top five in the world, winning Guatemala’s Cup of Excellence year after year.

Most recently, Finca El Injerto’s Pacamara coffee beans were auctioned off for Grounds for Health (https://cremacoffeegarage.com.au/blog/grounds-for-health-challenged-raise-200k-anonymous-donor), a not-for-profit organisation that screens, tests and treats female coffee workers and women in the wider communities of these rural areas for cervical cancer. The winning bid on the Pacamara raised over $6,000USD for the organisation.

Tasting Notes: A medium body and jasmine aroma, with hints of candied fruits and grapes, and a clean finish.

Mocca, Bourbon, Catuai and Pacamara Coffee Cherries, Finca El Injerto

FINCA EL INJERTO - HUEHUETENANGO, GUATEMALA

Finca El Injerto is located in La Libertad, Huehuetenango in Guatemala. The farms’ coffee plantation is surrounded by rainforest, located at a height of 1,500 meters and 2,000 meters above sea level, and an average temperature of 18 to 22 degrees Celsius. Its diverse and mountainous terrain has allowed the definition of regions with different varieties of plants with characteristics suitable for each type of coffee.

Owned and operated by the Aguirre family since 1874, they have created a true coffee legacy as one of Guatemala’s best coffees, ranking in the world’s top 5 coffees, and they are also one of the first certified Carbon Neutral coffee farms in Guatemala and the world.

As a producer, Finca El Injerto is heavily environmentally and community focused. They take into consideration, at every step, the appropriate measures to always ensure the protection of the environment and practice fair treatment of employees, such as fair wages and improving living and working conditions. Their environmental objectives include the reduction of contaminants, such as herbicides used in the plantation and plastic bags in nursery plants; reusing all water from coffee processing; recycling up to 80% of the coffee pulp to produce organic fertilizer; and implementing plans for the management of wildlife, reforestation, and water conservation.

Approximately 90% of their production is marketed and sold internationally, with popular consumer bases in the USA, Japan, Korea, Iceland, Canada, and Taiwan. Crema Coffee Garage is exclusively bringing some of the best Finca El Injerto has to offer to Australia – no other Australian roaster has this Guatemalan!

THE GREEN BEAN PROCESS

Finca El Injerto uses a Washed process to produce their green beans. First, the coffee cherry is pulped by a pulper machine, then left to ferment in water with its mucilage for up to 48 to 72 hours. The mucilage is then washed off the beans and left to dry. Once the beans are completely dry, they are stripped of their parchment and ready to put in sacks for export. This process is often used to produce a higher quality coffee, though it does require a lot of skill and a lot of water.