Our first Guatemalan offering has just landed and I’m thrilled to present you with our latest release - La Giralda. This was one of the most unique farms I was able to visit, and perhaps one of the most unique I’ve seen. The farm is an old family property now run by Don Manuel Rionda and his wife Doña Mirella - up in the mountains of Chimaltenango. They run a family operated chocolate company in Guatemala City and dedicate their time to the farm where they cultivate pink Guava and Macadamia trees (for use in the chocolates.)Though the farm was originally planted exclusively to coffee, over the years the lack of financial feasibility made it such that they transitioned some parcels. The result is beautiful, the macadamia trees are marvelous and the guava is exceptionally delicious. They have a small series of slopes that surround the mill and home - though relatively rare in Guatemala - the Rionda’s process all of their coffee on site, both wet and dry. This carries tremendous implications for the care they can put into it, but more importantly the drying process is prolonged by the impressively cold nights. Over the course of nearly 20 days, the coffee reaches a slow and gentle cure - and the seeds are incredibly dense and healthy. From a grader’s perspective, the coffee is impressively processed and finished.
The aromas of the coffee are incredibly clean and balanced - hazelnuts, Swiss chocolate, cardamom, and baked apples come to mind. It has also has a slight savory edge which is, to this taster, a hall mark of Guatemalan coffees of quality. On the palate the coffee has a lovely body - very dense but it clears quickly - and opens up to soft and balanced acidity that carries the baked apple sensation through to a clean finish that leaves a lovely dried fruit and spice aftertaste. All in all, I can’t wait to get more time to work with these two - the farm is a treasure and we will do great things together.
