Guatemala Blue Ayarza 12oz coffee bag, washed light roast with dark chocolate, mixed nuts, and golden raisin

Aerial view of a coffee mill with a blue warehouse surrounded by forested hills, Guatemala

Doctor with a stethoscope examining a young child held by a woman at a health clinic, Guatemala

Smiling kids gathered around a wooden desk in a classroom with tin walls, Guatemala

Kids lined up with cups as a woman serves a drink from a large pot outside a school, Guatemala

Guatemala Blue Ayarza

Around Laguna de Ayarza, a crater lake in Guatemala's Santa Rosa department, coffee has traditionally been processed farm by farm by smallholders, which makes quality hard to hold from one lot to the next. The mill near the lake handles that by paying growers a premium for ripe cherry and processing it all in one place. This lot was washed there and dried in the sun on patios. We roasted it light, and it drinks like dark chocolate, mixed nuts, and golden raisin, with a medium, silky body and acidity that stays light and mellow. Sweet, nutty, and the coffee we want in the mug once the mornings cool off.

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Laguna de Ayarza fills a volcanic crater in Guatemala's Santa Rosa department, left behind about 20,000 years ago when an eruption brought down a pair of volcanoes. Locals call it the blue lake, and that's where this coffee's name comes from. Our import partners at Covoya, who help us bring this coffee to the States, only give the Blue Ayarza label to high-grown coffee picked in late winter and early spring.

More than a thousand growers farm the slopes around the lake, from about 1,400 meters up to 2,000, and most of them are smallholders. In Guatemala, coffee like this has traditionally been processed farm by farm, which makes it hard to keep quality steady from one lot to the next, so Covoya buys the cherry instead, pays a premium for the ripe stuff, and processes everything centrally at its cherry mill near Ayarza. The trees are a mix of Bourbon, Catuai, Anacafe 14, and Pache, a compact Typica mutation that was first found in 1949 on a farm in this same department.

This lot was washed at the mill and then dried in the sun on open patios. Near the mill, Covoya also funds a year-round health clinic, and with other donors it supports coffee kindergartens, where kids can be in class while their parents are out picking. There are 481 children enrolled across Covoya's coffee kindergartens in Guatemala.

We roasted it light, and on our cupping table it came through as dark chocolate, mixed nuts, and golden raisin. It moves as you drink it, with nougat, pine nuts, and sunflower butter up front, then baking spice and toasted rice, then a rich chocolate finish. The body is medium and silky, and the acidity stays light and mellow the whole way down, which is why it landed on our board as a classic fall coffee. Pulled as espresso, the chocolate takes over with a little stone fruit, and it gets thick and sweet like a good European hot chocolate.

Producer: Smallholder farmers, Covoya's Ayarza cherry mill
Region: Laguna de Ayarza, Santa Rosa, Guatemala
Altitude: 1,400-2,000 MASL
Variety: Anacafe 14, Bourbon, Catuai, Pache
Processing Method: Washed, sun-dried on patios

Guatemala Blue Ayarza

$22.00

Tasting Notes

Dark Chocolate, Mixed Nuts, and Golden Raisin

Roast Level

Light

Body

Medium, Smooth, Silky

Acidity

Light, Tame, Mellow

What does washed mean?
The fruit comes off the seed before the coffee dries, and then it gets washed clean. That usually makes for a tidier cup than a natural, where the coffee dries with the fruit still on.
Where does it come from?
Smallholder farms on the slopes around Laguna de Ayarza, a crater lake in Santa Rosa, southeastern Guatemala, between 1,400 and 2,000 meters. The growers sell their ripe cherry to a mill near the lake run by our import partners at Covoya, who help us bring this coffee to the States.
What does Blue Ayarza mean?
It's Covoya's name for high-grown coffee from around Laguna de Ayarza that's picked in late winter and early spring. Locals call the lake the blue lake.
Chocolate and nuts, in a light roast?
Yes. The chocolate, nuts, and raisin sweetness all come from the coffee itself, and the acidity is light and mellow, so it doesn't drink like a bright light roast. Nothing is added.
Is this like other Guatemalas I've had?
It's in the chocolate-and-nut camp a lot of people know Guatemala for, but it moves around more. Nougat and pine nuts come first, then baking spice and toasted rice, and it finishes on rich chocolate.
What's Pache?
A compact natural mutation of Typica that was first found in 1949 on a farm in Santa Rosa, the same part of Guatemala this coffee comes from. It's one of four varieties in this lot, along with Bourbon, Catuai, and Anacafe 14.
What's Anacafe 14?
A Guatemalan variety that came from a natural cross in the field. A farmer in Chiquimula found it, and Anacafé, Guatemala's national coffee association, released it in 2014. It holds up better against leaf rust than a lot of older varieties.
Is this good for espresso?
Yes. On espresso the chocolate and a little stone fruit take over, with a big, thick texture and a lot of sweetness. Our roaster compares it to a rich European hot chocolate.

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CUPS PER BAG SIZE

Freshness Tip: Choose the size that you'll drink within 3 to 4 weeks

12 ounces

~18 cups

2 pounds

~48 cups

5 pounds

~121 cups

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