Long & Short Coffee: Guatemala, EL PAJAL, Washed

We take a detour from our regular African coffee selection to bring you the ‘Domingo Lopez’ from Guatemala, named after the farmer who harvested this crop.

Domingo harvests his crop on his farm ‘El Pajal’ in Huehuetenango, where he grows a mix of Caturra, Catui, Bourbon and Pache varietals to produce an exceptionally balanced coffee. Despite the constant threat of leaf rust his farm also boasts 100% organic certification due to a high standard of farming and respect for the environment.

Huehuetenango is highly regarded for producing the best coffees in Guatemala. Located north of the country on the highlands, the elevated land and climate produce coffees that are distinguishable by region due to superior quality. Huehuetenango coffees tend to be well rounded in flavour, balancing bitterness, sourness and sweetness through a medley of chocolate and fruits.

In true Huehetenango fashion this is a perfect balance between classically chocolate South American flavours with the more fruity notes associated with African coffees. Washed in process the flavours are milder but deeper on the tongue with a richness of bitter dark chocolate and black tea, off set by a mellow but fruitier hit of raspberry. Bitter sweet until the very end!

This is a perfect candidate for multi-use brewing due to its versatillity. As such it is omni-roasted one way for both filter and espresso based drinks. Our picks for this are either the french press/cafetiere or as an espresso base for your milk drinks for extra body and umph.