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Elias Perez La Montana Washed

Elias Perez La Montana Washed

$23.00 USD
$23.00 USD
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  • Description:

    Grown at 1,850 meters in the mountains of Huehuetenango, this washed lot comes from Elias Perez Mendez, who farms a half-hectare parcel his family has worked since 1990. The plot is called La Montana, a high hillside set among the mountains. The cherry ferments in cement tanks with no added water, then dries slowly on sheets, raked by hand in thin layers so every bean dries evenly. In the cup, we find soft plum, creamy white chocolate, and brown sugar-like sweetness.

  • Product Info:

      Variety: Caturra

    Caturra is a natural dwarf of the Bourbon variety, discovered on a Brazilian farm in the early twentieth century and grown across Latin America ever since. Its compact size lets it be planted densely and tended easily, but what earns it a place on farms like this one is the cup: clean, sweet, and lively, with the balance that made Bourbon famous, from a hardier and more manageable tree. In the high, cool mountains of Huehuetenango, where the fruit ripens slowly, Caturra develops the depth and refinement that define a great Guatemalan coffee.

      Process: Washed

    La Montaña is a fully washed coffee, made the way the best Guatemalan lots have been for generations. The cherry is depulped the day it is picked and moved into cement tanks, where it ferments in its own mucilage with no added water, a slower, gentler fermentation that builds sweetness and a clean, defined acidity. Once fermentation is complete, the beans are washed clean and carried to the drying area, where they are spread across sheets in thin layers and turned constantly with wooden rakes, gently enough never to bruise the bean, until the whole mass has dried slowly and evenly. It is patient, hands-on work, and it is what gives a washed Huehuetenango its clarity and balance.

      Elevation: 1850M

    Elevation plays a crucial role in determining the quality and flavor profile of coffee beans. Generally, higher elevations are associated with better quality coffee. As coffee plants grow at higher altitudes, they face cooler temperatures, reduced oxygen levels, and increased exposure to sunlight. These conditions cause the coffee cherries to mature more slowly, allowing them to develop more complex flavors and a higher concentration of sugars.

      Roast: Light

    Light

      Profile: Plum,
                     White Chocolate,
                     Brown Sugar

    A coffee profile, also known as a flavor profile or tasting notes, refers to the unique combination of flavors, aromas, and characteristics present in a particular coffee bean or blend. It encompasses a range of sensory attributes such as acidity, body, sweetness, bitterness, aroma, and aftertaste. Coffee profiles can vary widely depending on factors like the bean's origin, variety, processing method, roast level, and brewing technique.

  • High in the mountains of Huehuetenango, in Guatemala's far west, Elias Pérez Méndez works a half-hectare parcel his family has farmed since 1990. His father held on through years when prices fell below the cost of growing, close to leaving coffee behind, until better seasons let the family buy more land and improve their home. Elias inherited this plot from his parents and took it over in 2020, planting more intensively and sharpening every practice, from the field to the drying patio, in the years since.
    He calls the parcel La Montaña for the mountains around it, a name that has stuck since his father first worked the land and still sets it apart from every other plot. Set on a hillside where spells of deep cold hold moisture in the soil, it grows Caturra in a climate made for coffee. The cherry is depulped the day it is picked, fermented in cement tanks with no added water, washed clean, and dried slowly on sheets, raked by hand in thin layers so every bean dries evenly. A careful cup from a careful hand.