This coffee is grown near Panajachel, Guatemala on the Northern Shores of Lake Atítlan. It is a microlot sorted out for its high quality and clean, vibrant flavors. Guatemala has been known for producing clean, juicy, sweet coffees and this one is no exception. It is pretty rare this year, however, due to the devastation caused to Guatemala’s crop by a coffee fungus called “roya” or Coffee Leaf Rust.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Guatemala Panajachel, from Spotted Cow Coffee Company in Mill Creek, Washington. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THE BASICS:
region: Panajachel, Guatemala
farm: Panajachel Mill
producer: smallholder farmers
association: N/A
elevation: 1500 meters above sea level
cultivars: Red Bourbon
process: fully washed, raised bed dried
certifications: standard
THE BREW:
method: Kalita Wave
grind: 18, Preciso
coffee: 32 g
water: 500 mL
bloom: 1:00
pour: 2:00 pour, 1:00 drop
THE COFFEE:
The aroma of the Guatemala Panajachel is fantastic. And a little “organic,” too. Scents of brown sugar, caramel, milk chocolate, nuts, berries, and wild flowers.
I am really impressed with the first few sips of this coffee. I wouldn’t say it’s delicate, but it has a softness to it that I really admire; on the lighter side of a medium-bodied coffee, it presents a creamy texture that coats the palate, soothing the taste buds with notes of salted caramel, milk chocolate, and almond milk. It’s not really obvious, but there’s also a touch of juicy Granny Smith apple up that lingers in the finish, making for something of a candy apple profile.
As the cup cools off, that green apple flavor becomes much more apparent—it becomes the dominant flavor, in fact—as it streaks to the front of each sip, pushing the sugar brownings and sweetness (which now includes honeysuckle) to the back. I’m also getting some muffled flavors of raisin, persimmon, and huckleberry on the sides of the tongue, with some hints of apricot, clementine, peach, and yellow date. Also—I wasn’t expecting this at all—I’m getting just a little bit of an elderflower astringency in the finish.
Medium body; creamy mouthfeel; malic acidity; slightly astringent finish.
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.