It is most likely that Jesuit missionaries introduced coffee to Guatemala, and there are accounts of coffee being grown in the country as early as mid-18th century. Nonetheless, as in neighbouring El Salvador, coffee only became an important export crop for the country at the advent of synthetic dyes and industrialisation of textiles – in the mid-19th century. Throughout the latter half of the 1800s, various government programs sought to promote coffee as a means to stimulate the economy, including a massive land privatisation program initiated by President Justo Rufino Barrias in 1871, which resulted in the creation of large coffee estates, many of which still produce some of Guatemala’s best coffees today.
Today, coffee is grown in 20 of Guatemala’s 22 departments, with around 270,000 hectares planted under coffee, almost all of which (98%) is shade grown. The country’s production is almost exclusively Arabica and is most commonly prepared using the washed method, though natural and various semi-washed methods are gaining in popularity, with increasingly producing fine examples.
Guatemala benefits from high altitudes and as many as 300 unique microclimates. There is constant rainfall in most regions and mineral-rich soils. However, while the country’s reputation as a producer of specialty coffee is stellar today, it has not been an easy road. Guatemala’s long and bloody civil war (1960-1996) disrupted millions of lives, eroded the economy, exacerbated poverty, and created social and political instability that still plagues the country today. Coffee production really only stabilised and began to increase at the turn of the century, displacing macadamia, and avocado production in many areas.
Located in the South-Central region of Guatemala, the Santa Rosa valley is renowned for its nutrient rich volcanic soils that create an ideal climate for a growing a slower maturing coffee which is said to concentrate the array of flavours. This coffee is SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), meaning it was grown above 1,300 meters. The European Preparation (EP) method requires that beans are hand sorted to remove foreign materials and defective beans.
