We hope you’ve enjoyed finding out a little more about our friends from Guatemala and the Dia. Give Good Day a go for yourself, just click the link or head into any of our stores!
Guatemala for Good Day!
What’s in a name?
Coffee is a morning essential for so many, and a surefire way to kick off on the right track is a cup of our Good Day blend. This blend makes for smooth, easy drinking with sweet praline flavours and silky, carmel qualities. Good Day is a coffee that encourages just that; a good day!
The team can’t stop talking about our latest Guatemalan components; so let’s find out more about what makes them so special.
Why Guatemala?
To start with, we’ve been purchasing coffee from Guatemala for over a decade. It is one of the first origins we started roasting and one we keep coming back to every year.
We’re currently roasting two incredible washed coffees to blend in Good Day; Santa Isabel ‘Las Flores’ and Amatillo. The 8th largest exporter of coffee in the world, Guatemala has rich volcanic soils, high elevations (1300-2000masl) and over 300 microclimates across the country. This allows for a wide variety of exceptional flavours, but as a general rule coffee here tends to be toasty, nutty and driven by sweetness; just what we’re after!
Amatillo
Amatillo hails from the Santa Rosa region. Situated on the La Gavia mountain between two volcanoes, Tecuamburro and Pacaya (the latter still being active!), Amatillo is part of the larger Finca Santa Ana. Established by the late Roberto Diaz Marroquin 30 years ago the estate is now managed by his son Fernando, who continues to improve on the meticulous practices that made his father an important figure in the Guatemalan specialty coffee industry.
With moisture rich clay-loam soils and high elevations of 1,600-1,800masl the Bourbon variety thrives here. Owing to the location at the top of the mountain, coffee is grown under the shade of Grevillea, Cedar and Oak trees which protects them from exposure to the elements. A key factor in coffee production at Amatillo is the distinct wet and dry seasons. Coffee matures slowly in the cooler, humid conditions, and is then harvested and processed in the warm, dry weather.
The cherries are hand picked and undergo a 12 hour aerobic fermentation in permeable nylon sacks. They are then depulped and fermented in tanks for a further 48 hours, before being washed and dried for a total of 10 days. Thanks to the additional fermentation period, this coffee has big flavour; think syrupy cola, brown sugar and caramelised figs.
Santa Isabel ‘Las Flores’
Once we have the body of our blend, we need acidity to balance that sweetness to create the silky smooth Good Day we know and love, and that’s where Santa Isabel ‘Las Flores’ comes in! This Caturra variety is from the Santa Isabel estate in the lush rainforests of the Coban growing region. The farm sits at 1,400-1,600masl and receives a staggering 3,500ml annual rainfall across 9-10 months of the year. This proves a challenge when drying the coffee, however combined with the cool climates makes for some really stand out flavour thanks to the extra sugars that develop during the slower cherry maturation period.
Managed by Luis Valdés Jr (known around the farm as “Wicho”) and owned by his father Luis Valdés Sr, the Santa Isabel estate has been in the family for 5 generations. The passion for their craft is evident in this special coffee, which consists of the sweetest, most floral and complex day lots from across the harvest season. The ripest cherries are graded by weight then pulped and fermented for 14 hours at the wet mill on site. Following this, they are washed and soaked in clean water for 24 hours. They are dried in the sun for 7-10 days until they reach 30% humidity, then moved to a greenhouse for a further 15-30 days to dry completely.
Owing to the unique growing conditions and the Valdés’ fastidious approach, Santa Isabel ‘Las Flores’ has a vibrant acidity with incredible clarity and a delicate, floral sweetness. When we had this coffee on rotation as a single origin last year, we loved it so much that we had to secure it again with Good Day in mind. This bright coffee creates the perfect balance for the structure of Amatillo. Our roasting team blends them 50/50, and the combination is delightfully malty and oozing with sweetness with milk or without.
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