Sideyard Coffee: March 5 - Guatemala 🇬🇹 La Libertad + 🔥🥗
Dear Sideyard Friends,
Every Thursday I wake up slightly nervous because I know I have to try a new coffee that I roasted the day before. I've usually convinced myself that the roast didn't go well. Maybe I should have added more heat sooner? Or perhaps I should have let it go another 30 seconds before pulling it? Thankfully, every week when I take that first sip of a new batch, I get to breathe a big sigh of relief and have a different thought... I lucked out again!
This week's lucky roast is a blend of coffees from seven producers near the town of La Libertad, Guatemala. The importer has longstanding relationships with individual farmers in the region, which helps them manifest the promises of direct trade. The importer cups hundreds of lots to determine which are of the highest quality and then pays a premium to those farmers. This drives up the price of their crop, which in turn incentivizes farmers to increase the quality of their production. Win/win/win.
As for the taste, it's nothing like the carbonic maceration Guatemala from a few weeks back. Look for caramel, cocoa, roasted almond, and citrus in the cup. If you close your eyes and take a big whiff I think you'll pick up the caramel without too much of a stretch. It's a fun flavor note.
How about some new music with our coffee? A friend clued me into this great service called Radiooooo that functions like a heavily curated version of digging through record stacks in search of hidden gems. Check out this track by Guatemalan natives Los Flamas. It comes from a 1971 album titled ¡La Ensalada De Los Flamas! and if that title alone isn't enough to make you fall for it, the record was pressed on red vinyl. [chef's kiss]
Cheers,
Ryan
References
https://library.sweetmarias.com/guatemala-proyecto-xinabajul/