La Tisha Estate, GuatemalaCoffee Bean Intro:

Green bean information

Country: Guatemala

Grade: SHB

Region: Fraijanes, Guatemala City

Elevation: 1675 meters

Harvest period: October to February of the following year

Processing method: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra

Processing farm: La Tisha Estate

The Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala), known as Guatemela in Taiwan, is a country in Central America located in the southern part of the North American continent. It borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean

Coffee was first truly introduced to Guatemala in 1750 by Father Jesuit, and the coffee industry in the region was developed by German colonists in the late 19th century. Today, most of the country’s coffee production takes place in the southern part of Guatemala. There are eight main coffee-growing regions in Guatemala: Antigua, Cobán, Atitlán, Huehuetenango, Fraijanes, Oriente, and San Marcos. Among these, Huehuetenango and Antigua are the most well-known among coffee enthusiasts.

La Tesha Estate

　　Las Deliclas

The Fraijanes region surrounds the capital city of Guatemala City, featuring high altitudes, abundant rainfall, and significant humidity variations. The volcanic ash from Pacaya, one of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes, provides essential minerals to the soil in this area, though it also occasionally impacts personal safety and infrastructure.

The unique geographical conditions of the Fraijanes Plateau—volcanic soil, high altitude, humid and rainy climate, and active volcanic activity—create distinctive growing conditions. Among the region’s volcanoes, Pacaya is the most active of the three still erupting in Guatemala, which often blankets the plateau with a light layer of dust while enriching the soil with abundant minerals. The period when coffee beans are dried coincides with the sunniest season on the Fraijanes Plateau. Although mornings are often cloudy and foggy, the conditions clear up quickly, ensuring ample sunlight for drying. The La Tesha Estate on the Fraijanes Plateau began coffee cultivation in 1920. The estate grows a diverse range of varieties, including Bourbon, Caturra, and Pacamara, across its total area of 205 acres (1 acre = 4046.8 square meters). Of these, 173 acres are dedicated to coffee cultivation, while the remaining 32 acres consist of pristine forest that serves as a habitat for various local wildlife species. The estate has several natural springs that provide sufficient high-quality irrigation water for the coffee plantation during the dry season, and they also serve as the power source (for water processing) for the coffee mill.

Similar to other Central American coffee-producing countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras, Guatemala uses altitude as the basis for coffee grading. Coffee grown at higher altitudes generally achieves better quality than that grown at lower altitudes, because as altitude increases, temperatures decrease. In high-altitude environments, the slower growth rate of coffee plants facilitates the accumulation of more desirable compounds.

The surface of the green beans carries relatively little silver skin, and there are almost no obvious defective beans, classifying the beans at the premium grade level. The green beans exhibit grassy and spicy notes, along with a distinct smoky aroma, resulting in a strong fragrance.

This is why altitude is used as a method for quality grading. So how does the altitude-based grading system work? Taking Guatemala as an example, the higher the altitude, the greater the bean density, and the higher the grade of the green coffee beans:

The highest grade is SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), grown at altitudes above 1350m;

Next is HB (Hard Bean), grown at altitudes between 1200m and 1400m;

Then there is SH (Semi-Hard Bean), grown at altitudes of 1200m.

La Tesha is composed of two varieties of green beans with different densities, so when blending beans of varying densities, the roasting charge temperature is set based on the Bourbon variety, and during the blooming phase, the Caturra variety is used as the standard—that is, for new-season beans with high density (when blending two or more varieties of green beans, the blooming phase is based on the densest bean variety [with a low flame preheat for the first minute]).