Whirlwind Coffee Co. Guatemala

Good morning and welcome to today’s review, checking out a single origin Guatemalan coffee from Whirlwind Coffee Co. Let’s dive right in!

Whirlwind Coffee Co. website

Purchase this coffee directly for $15.50/12oz

Other reviews in this series: High Kick blend | Ethiopia Yirgacheffe


WHIRLWIND COFFEE CO. GUATEMALA

Whirlwind Coffee Co. has a whirldwind of a story. I featured their High Kick blend a while back and people commented on the wild and fun bag art, which was painted by co-owner David Silverstein’s late wife, Elana. Elana died tragically due to a medical error in 2012, and in 2021 David and his daughter, Maya, opened Whirlwind Coffee Co. as a testament to honor her. Formerly the COO of a digital marketing firm, David set up Whirlwind to be able to help his community by giving back 100% of profits to local charities and organizations. Salaries and other expenses are covered first, but any profit remaining goes back into the community, which is just the coolest thing.

The pandemic put a damper on David and Maya’s plans of opening the roastery and cafe, so David opted to delay the cafe (which is now open) and focus on roasting. The cafe opened around February this year and also doubles as a local meeting space for other community organizations and for things like family yoga. Coffee is so much about community, too, no matter where in the world you find it, and companies like Whirlwind Coffee Co. are really living that realization out to the fullest.

One thing that’s a little lacking in Whirlwind’s presentation, for me, is the amount of information about the coffees available on the website. As a coffee writer, of course I want to know as much as possible about origin, species, etc to piece together that side of the story. I’ll bet there is a balance between appealing to people like me, though, who presumably make up a very small portion of the American coffee market, and normal people, who may be intimidated or turned off by that much information, so this could be an intentional play to appeal to Whirlwind’s target market. All that being said, all I know about this coffee is that is it a single origin from Guatemala. I can make a very safe bet and guess this is a washed process coffee, too, as I feel like 99% of the coffee coming out of Guatemala is washed. The website says this is a light/medium roast. Visually, I’d call it “medium” for whatever that’s worth, which isn’t much! LOL

For my review I’m using my standard pourover setup of a 1:16.5 ratio of 22g of coffee to 363g of Third Wave Water in a Trinity Origin dripper. The Origin is a flat bottom dripper with a number of holes that can be configured a bunch of different ways with rubber blockers. I have mine set up for three holes in the center, giving a similar brew as a Kalita Wave or other 3-hole flat bottom brewer. I’m using Kalita 155 size filters and an Orphan Espresso Lido 3 grinder for my pourovers. Finally, I pulse pour my water through a Melodrip, which keeps agitation of the coffee bed to a minimum during brewing. This coffee got a 30 second bloom and a total brew time, bloom included, of 3:49.

Getting right into my analysis, the aroma from the cup is nice and inviting. I’m getting some light caramelized sugars here, just the slightest hint of roast and maybe a very slight hint of something apple-like in the nose. Taking a sip, I’m getting all of this in a much more concentrated form. The body of this coffee lands between medium and medium+ for me and the dominant flavors initially are definitely dark caramelized sugars and some roasty notes. As the cup cools I’m getting some nice lemon candy acidity to balance out the sweetness in this cup. As this coffee approaches room temp, I’m really digging it. The roasty element is either diminished or my palate attenuated to it (not that I mind a little roast in coffee, to begin with) and I’m getting a really easy to enjoy, round sweetness with burnt sugar edges like the crust on a creme brulee. The lemon candy acidity has been replaced with something a little more orange or tangerine-ish and it’s really a condiment to the main course, so the citrus is pretty subtle, like a squeeze of lemon on a steak or something along those lines. It makes a difference but isn’t in the forefront. There’s a bit of cocoa or chocolate in the second half of the sip for me, too.

Whirlwind’s notes for this coffee say, “Smooth and citric, with toffee, berry, and lemon flavors” so we’re in pretty good agreement. I didn’t get a hint of berry and I don’t think I’ve ever tasted any berries in a Guatemalan coffee to date, but each palate is different. Definitely do not approach this coffee hoping for Ethiopian natural flavor vibes, though! LOL

This is a nice cup, all around! Another crowd-pleaser, which I think is 3 for 3 from this batch of coffees that Whirlwind sent me! For a roaster that has been at it for a relatively short period of time, I really like what Whirlwind is doing. The coffees I tried are accessible, well-roasted, sweet, clean, delicious and familiar enough to appeal “to the masses” while interesting enough to give us geeks something to look for in the cup. What more could I ask?!