About the coffee:
This SHB Swiss Water Process (SWP) decaffeinated blend has all the flavor characteristics we expect from a Guatemalan coffee. Think lots of chocolate and fruit, as well as a clean taste. This coffee is ideal for espresso blends.
Strictly Hard Bean (SHB):
Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) refers to the altitude at which the coffee is grown. For a coffee to be classified as SHB, it must be grown at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level or higher. Due to the higher altitude and lower temperatures, the coffee crop ripens more slowly, resulting in denser beans.
European Preparation (EP):
EP is short for European Preparation. EP beans are sorted through a 15+ screen with low defect tolerance.
Swiss Water Process:
Young consumers are driving the decaffeinated coffee renaissance, and like their caffeinated counterparts, they expect high-quality, often traceable and certified coffee. With more than 50% of the world's population under the age of 30, demand for decaffeinated coffee—and for specialty decaffeinated coffee that is flavorful and meets ethical and environmental standards—is growing.
Swiss Water offers an alternative for consumers who are concerned about processes involving the use of methyl chloride (MC) and ethyl acetate (EA). Because no added chemicals are used in the water-based process, coffees can retain their organic certification, and consumers can be confident that the products do not contain additional chemicals.
The difficulty with decaffeination lies in the fact that many of the flavor compounds that give coffee its excellent taste are water-soluble, just like caffeine. Therefore, any decaffeination method must effectively select and remove caffeine molecules while preserving as many flavor compounds as possible.
The process begins with a batch of green coffee beans, which are soaked in water to remove the caffeine. Many flavor compounds are also removed in the water, but don't worry! This is intentional and helps preserve the flavor for the future.
The process begins with a batch of green coffee beans, which are soaked in water to remove the caffeine. Many flavor compounds are also removed in the water, but don't worry! This is intentional and helps preserve the flavor for the future.
The first batch of beans is then discarded. This process is only necessary once, because the mixture produced by soaking the beans, known as green coffee extract (GCE), can be preserved and reused to decaffeinate many batches of green beans.
The principle behind the water processing is that the water can only absorb a certain amount of flavor and caffeine before it becomes completely saturated. When the water is completely saturated, it cannot absorb (and remove) any more aroma compounds, even if they are present in the coffee. The first batch of coffee beans created a completely saturated water mixture, the GCE. To decaffeinate the coffee beans, the GCE is passed through a filter to remove only the caffeine.
Now the GCE is completely saturated, except for caffeine. When a new batch of green coffee beans is placed in the GCE, only the caffeine from the new beans enters the GCE, everything else remains in the beans because the GCE is already saturated with these chemicals and cannot "absorb" any more.
Coffee in Guatemala:
Guatemala boasts a number of different growing regions and growing conditions, which allow for the production of spectacular coffees. Today, the country is revered as a producer of some of the world's most delicious and refined coffees. We are proud to bring these coffees to market in collaboration with several excellent local partners.
The Guatemalan coffee industry suffered a severe setback in 2010 when coffee leaf rust (CLR) appeared in Latin America. The epidemic peaked in 2012, and although CLR continues to affect some farms, Guatemala continues to produce high-quality, record-breaking coffee. In 2017, new and varied processing methods pushed prices to record highs at the Guatemala Cup of Excellence competition.
The overall quality of Guatemalan coffee is improving, thanks to the diversity of producers in the industry. More and more smallholders are producing high-quality coffee at high altitudes. Cooperatives are becoming increasingly attractive to smallholders because they often provide financing and other support to farmers to improve their farming and processing practices, and they can often offer higher prices for coffee beans than intermediaries. Many cooperatives have launched quality improvement training for their farmer members and are becoming increasingly adept at helping their members market their coffee as a specialty product.
How did coffee arrive in Guatemala?
According to some sources, coffee cultivation in Guatemala began in the mid-18th century, when Jesuits brought coffee bushes to the city of Antigua to decorate their monasteries. Records from the early 1800s indicate that Guatemalans were already drinking coffee at that time. At that time, trade routes were cut off during the Napoleonic Wars, locusts destroyed crops, and cheaper, more durable artificial dyes appeared, all of which crippled the export of indigo, one of Guatemala's main cash crops. In order to boost the ailing economy, many began to grow coffee as a new cash crop.
For the next 150 years, most of the arable land was owned by large landowners of European descent. These landowners employed indigenous people from the highlands, few of whom officially owned land, to tend and harvest coffee on large farms. Although this model contributed significantly to existing inequalities, it also put Guatemala on the global map of coffee production.
The ongoing struggle for equality:
In June 1952, during the Guatemalan revolution, Congress passed Decree No. 900, also known as the Agrarian Reform Law. The law distributed the land of nearly 1,700 estates among 500,000 landless peasants. Most of the beneficiaries were indigenous people who had not owned land since the Spanish conquest in the 1500s. However, the law outraged many large landowners, including the United Fruit Company and the United States, who viewed the reform as a communist threat. The land reform law is often cited as the trigger for the 1954 coup, which marked the beginning of decades of civil war.
The Guatemalan civil war did not end until 1996, and the violent events of the second half of the 20th century significantly hampered the Guatemalan coffee industry. The stability of peacetime slowly contributed to the expansion of coffee production beyond the traditional coffee-growing regions. Since the beginning of the 21st century, coffee plantations have replaced land previously used to grow popular crops such as macadamia nuts and avocados.
Where coffee reigns supreme:
Today, Guatemala's coffee sector is huge. It accounts for around 40% of the country's total agricultural export revenue, and almost a quarter of the population is involved in producing the 3.6 million bags of coffee that Guatemala exports each year.
Guatemala's strictly hard coffee beans (grown at an altitude of 1,350 meters above sea level) are among the best in the world. Coffee beans grown on the southern slopes of the country's many volcanoes are considered particularly desirable. Regional blends from the Atitlan and Huehuetenango areas are sought after with similar enthusiasm as coffee from a single farm in Antigua.
Guatemala's excellent coffee is the result of a combination of favorable environmental conditions and a strong focus on cultivation and processing methods. Coffee is widely grown and is cultivated in 20 of Guatemala's 22 departments. Due to the high altitude, constant rainfall, and mineral-rich soils, coffee is an excellent crop in most of Guatemala. Nearly 300 unique microclimates mean that Guatemalan coffees are extremely diverse in flavor.
Almost all coffee is Arabica, and 98% is grown in the shade. Arabica production is almost entirely washed, but natural and honey methods are becoming increasingly popular, and many excellent batches are produced using them. Many people in the country use experimental processing methods, including post-wash soaking, and Guatemalan farmers are at the forefront of greenhouse drying methods. Due to Guatemala's high altitude, varied microclimates, consistent rainfall, and excellent cultivation and processing methods, Guatemalan Arabica coffees have a wide variety of distinctive flavors.
Smallholders leading the way:
The overall quality of Guatemalan coffee is improving thanks to the diversity of producers in the industry. More and more smallholders are producing high-quality coffee at high altitudes. Cooperatives are becoming increasingly attractive to smallholders because they often provide financing and other support to farmers to improve their farming and processing practices, and they can often offer higher prices for coffee beans than intermediaries. Many cooperatives have launched quality improvement training for member farmers and are becoming increasingly adept at helping their members market their coffee as a specialty product.
