This is the last of a trio of Central and South American coffees Bold Bean Coffee Roasters from Jacksonville, FL sent me recently. I loved their selections from Colombia and Costa Rica and they are one of my favorite roasters when it comes to coffees from the Americas. They always do a great job!
Today’s coffee is the Finca La Esperanza from Hoja Blanca in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. This is a Red Bourbon varietal grown at 1372-1615masl. Bold Bean offers tasting notes of, “sweet peach and cocoa with a floral aroma and tamarind-like acidity.” You can buy this coffee directly from my friends in Florida for $16/12oz bag.
Finca La Esperanza is owned by Aurelio Villatoro. The farm was purchased by Aurelio’s father, Heleodoro, in 1956. Finca La Esperanza has been awarded the Guatemala Cup of Excellence in five out of the six previous years, taking 7th place in 2015. That’s an amazing achievement and proof of the quality of coffee being grown there as well as the expertise and care with which it is being handled.
This is a delicious coffee. It has a light cocoa aroma but the cup is sweet and balanced and ridiculously easy to drink. I actually had a tough time with this review because I had given about 1/2 of my sample to a friend I share coffee with. It seemed like every time I would make a cup for myself I would get sidetracked on something and before I knew it I would be done with my coffee! Can a coffee be too easy to drink?! 🙂
The body on this coffee is medium but it really has a mouth-filling sensation and “texture” to it. There is a lot of sweetness in the flavor but also a good amount of acidity that seemed to focus on the very back of my palate and throat, which is probably where some of that sense of fullness comes from. The aftertaste lingers with that bit of acidity remaining on the palate, so this is a coffee whose flavors stick around for quite a while after swallowing. There is some cocoa in the flavor as well as a beautiful floral component that is subtle yet adds complexity. There is a bit of peachiness in the cup and the acidity is mostly malic, like apple juice, with just a bit of extra citrus kick… maybe like a hint of lemon. It has a nice sweet finish that invites you to take sip after sip and, before you know it, all gone!
This is an excellent coffee and I can see why Finca La Esperanza has won so many Cup of Excellence top auctions. Bold Bean is a perfect roaster for a coffee like this, too, because they always seem able to maximize the sweetness, balance, acidity and drinkability of these Central American coffees. Well done!