Guatemala San Pedro Nejapa Coffee BeansCoffee Bean Intro:

Name: San Pedro Nejapa

Country: Guatemala

Region: Huehuetenango, San Pedro Nejapa Town

Altitude: 1400m—1529m

Varieties: Bourbon, Typica, Catuai

Processing Method: Washed

Huehuetenango is located in the most remote northwestern highlands of Guatemala. Among the three major non-volcanic coffee-growing regions in Guatemala, the Huehuetenango Highlands are the driest and highest-altitude area. The dry, hot winds from the Tehuantepec Plateau in Mexico protect the region’s coffee from frost, allowing coffee to be grown at elevations up to 2000 meters (6500 feet). Due to its remote location, all coffee farmers must process their own coffee, but fortunately, the region has countless streams, enabling small processing facilities to be set up almost anywhere.

Region Introduction

Located in Central America, Guatemala borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Mexico to the north, Belize to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. The Huehuetenango Highlands are influenced by warm, humid air from the Caribbean Sea via the Central Mountains, resulting in misty, variable weather. The region is part of a volcanic zone, fostering fertile volcanic soils. Additionally, its location on the edge of tectonic activity creates a rugged, high-altitude basin terrain. Under such diverse terroir conditions, the region produces rich, vibrant coffee profiles, yielding high-quality Huehuetenango coffee beans. These beans are graded into seven levels based on altitude, with higher-elevation beans being of greater quality and more aromatic.

San Pedro Nejapa Town is located at the border of the Huehuetenango region in northern Guatemala and Mexico, making it one of the more popular coffee-growing areas in Guatemala.

Grading System

Like other Central American producing countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras, Guatemala’s grading system is also based on altitude. Coffee produced at higher altitudes is generally of better quality than that from lower altitudes because, as altitude increases, temperatures decrease. In high-altitude environments, coffee grows more slowly, which is more conducive to the accumulation of desirable compounds.

Hence, the method of grading by altitude: the higher the altitude, the denser the coffee beans, and the higher the grade of the green beans.

SHB (Strictly Hard Bean): Grown at altitudes of 1500–1700 meters.

HB (Hard Bean): Grown at altitudes of 1350–1500 meters.

SH (Semi-Hard Bean): Grown at altitudes of 1200–1350 meters.

Extra Prime (Extra Prime Washed): Grown at altitudes of 1000–1200 meters.

Prime (Prime Washed): Grown at altitudes of 850–1000 meters.

Good Washed (Good Washed): Grown at altitudes of 700–850 meters.

Coffee Bean Processing Method

The primary processing method in Guatemala is washed processing.

1. After harvesting ripe coffee cherries, impurities, defective beans, and floaters are initially removed. This step is the same as the natural drying method.

2. Pulp Removal

The fresh cherries are fed into a pulping machine to remove the skin and pulp. Unripe cherries, which are difficult to separate from the pulp, are screened out at this stage. After pulping, what remains are the mucilage, parchment, and seeds.

3. Fermentation to Remove Mucilage

The seeds, still covered in mucilage after pulp removal, are transferred to fermentation tanks. Although called the "washed" method, the mucilage isn’t actually washed off but is instead biologically broken down through fermentation. Fermentation lasts about 16–36 hours, during which the mixture is frequently stirred to accelerate mucilage separation. Washed fermentation produces acidic compounds such as citric acid, malic acid, and acetic acid, which seep into the green beans, giving washed beans a more pronounced acidity compared to natural-processed beans. After fermentation, the beans are truly washed—rinsed again to clean them.

4. Drying

After washing, the beans still need to be dried either by sun or machine until their moisture content drops to 12%. Since the pulp has already been removed, there’s no need to worry about mold issues during drying, as with the natural method. The dried parchment beans are also not as hard as sun-dried beans (which still have pulp and skin), so they can be hulled using a hulling machine to obtain the green beans.

Green Bean Analysis

Best Coffee purchased these beans this time because they are a classic blend of American coffee varieties, including Bourbon, Typica, and Catuai. The Bourbon variety is the origin of many modern coffee varieties and was first discovered on Réunion Island. When it was brought to the Americas, its characteristics changed. Typica has bronze-tipped leaves and an oval or pointed bean shape; it offers elegant flavors but is delicate, with poor disease resistance and low yield. Finally, Catuai is a hybrid of the new world variety and Caturra, with a compact tree structure and very high yields when moderately fertilized. The grapefruit and dark chocolate notes in these beans reflect the distinctive flavor profile of the Huehuetenango region.

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