Antigua Santa Clara, GuatemalaCoffee Bean Intro:

Guatemala Antigua Santa Clara Washed Bourbon

Guatemala Antigua Washed Santa Clara SHB

Coffee region: Antigua

Coffee estate: Santa Clara Estate

Planting altitude: 1500 to 1700 meters

Coffee variety: Bourbon

Processing method: Washed process

Coffee region

These coffee beans come from the Santa Clara Estate in the Antigua region of Guatemala.

Antigua is perhaps the most famous coffee region in Guatemala. Rich volcanic soil, low humidity, abundant sunshine, and cool nights are characteristics of this area, and these features contribute to the extraordinary coffee of Antigua, Guatemala.

Antigua is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. The Fuego volcano occasionally brings mineral-rich volcanic ash to the soil of Antigua. The volcanic pumice in the soil retains moisture, helping to offset the low rainfall in Antigua. Although it gets cold at night in Antigua, the dense shade protects the coffee trees from the occasional frost in the region.

The Zelaya family has been growing coffee for over 100 years, with four generations of coffee cultivation. The Santa Clara Estate is one of the coffee farms they own and operate.

Santa Clara covers 90 hectares and is located on the fertile southern slopes of the Agua River at an altitude of over 1500 meters in the Antigua Valley. This estate has been managed by Ricardo Zelaya since 1988, who is also the fourth-generation member of the Zelaya family to grow coffee at the Santa Clara Estate.

Coffee variety

The variety of these Guatemalan coffee beans is Bourbon 。

Bourbon is a mutation of Typica and, along with Typica, is one of the oldest existing coffee varieties. Its green cherries turn bright red when ripe.

Compared to Typica, Bourbon has broader leaves, denser growth, and although its yield is slightly higher than Typica, it still has a two-year harvest cycle, making it a low-yield variety. However, it offers high-quality flavor with wine-like acidity and a sweet aftertaste.

The coffee beans are larger in size, uniform in shape, and have an even, glossy color. To facilitate harvesting, farmers prune the coffee trees to a height of no more than 150 centimeters.

Processing method

At Santa Clara, every coffee cherry is handpicked, then hand-sorted, and finally approved by the supervisor before being sent to the processing plant.

The estate also employs about 50 “special pickers,” who have demonstrated exceptional dexterity and attention to detail, and are therefore selected to harvest some of the estate’s micro-lots. These workers can earn double the daily minimum wage by picking coffee at the estate.

At the processing plant, the coffee cherries are depulped, then fermented in tanks for 14-22 hours. Then, the beans are washed to remove the remaining mucilage, and carefully dried on Ricardo’s raised beds until the moisture content drops to around 11%.

These drying beds feature greenhouse-style enclosed roofs whose walls can be raised or lowered to maximize airflow and control temperature and humidity.

This drying method allows Ricardo to better control the coffee drying process, ensuring slow and even drying. Once drying is complete, the beans are hulled at Ricardo’s processing plant, with each step closely monitored to meet high-quality standards.

Throughout the process, Ricardo also ensures the recovery and reuse of all organic by-products. Water used in cherry processing is discharged into settling ponds to prevent pollution of local river systems, and the pulp is fermented by worms into fertilizer.

Roast profile