Guatemala Lucía Ramírez

Guatemala, Lucía Ramírez – Honey Dew, Citrus, Crème Brule 

Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Connect

This micro-lot comes to us from Lucía Ramírez, and her family-owned farm located in the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala. We connected with Lucía via our direct partnership with Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora of the Bella Vista Group in Antigua. Luis Pedro and his family have built a veritable coffee powerhouse in Antigua as producers, exporters, and supporters of their coffee community, and we are excited to continue our partnership as he expands his expertise into Huehuetenango. 

The Ramírez family has been producing coffee for the past six years, with Lucía taking over the operation after her husband Arsenio emigrated to the US four years ago. Lucía is incredibly dedicated to producing the highest quality coffee possible, and she uses the region’s best practices in her harvesting and processing techniques. This lot is primarily composed of Bourbon, Caturra, and Typica varieties, grown between 1,700 – 1,900 m.a.s.l.

Experience

Opening with delicately sweet honeydew, a pronounced brightness that evolves into a complex range of citrus notes including kumquat and lime, all wrapped in a creamy finish packed with the developed sugars of Crème Brule. Lucía’s coffee is a shining example of the complexity coffee from Huehuetenango can display. This is an excellent choice for anyone looking to start exploring coffees that are lighter than The Answer. 

Origin // Guatemala 

Region // Huehuetenango

Producer // Lucía Ramírez

Variety // Bourbon, Caturra, Typica  

Elevation // 1,700 – 1,900 m.a.s.l.

Process // Washed

Flavor Notes // Honey Dew, Citrus, Crème Brule

Deep Dive

Lucía’s coffee comes to us from Huehuetenango via our partnership with Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora. Luis Pedro and Bella Vista’s continued exploration into coffee doesn’t just include working in regions outside of Antigua but also looking at how he can be more sustainable in the current systems. When Cat & Cloud owner/green buyer Charles Jack visited Bella Vista in March 2022, Luis Pedro told him about their current project of taking de-pulped coffee mucilage, typically disposed of as by-waste, and making Kombucha out of it. This effectively turns what would be waste into a new consumable product for producers, and we think this is rad!

Region: Huehuetenango

The high elevations, steep mountains, and unique air currents of the remote Huehuetenango region create the perfect cool yet dry microclimate for coffee to thrive. There is a pronounced difference between the flavor profiles of Guatemalan coffees from Antigua and Huehuetenango. While the coffees we buy from Antigua are renowned for their orange acidity and chocolate undertones, we buy Huehues for their tropical brightness, light body, and flavor complexity. 

Processing Method: Washed

Washed Coffees in Guatemala are first de-pulped to remove the fruit from the seed. Next, a fermentation process is used to remove any remaining mucilage. After the mucilage is removed, the coffee seeds are washed and then laid out to dry on cement patios.