Guatemala - San Martin Black Honey

Notes of Honey Grahams, Stone Fruit and Blackberry

Unique Process, Sweet Flavor

Honey mixed with notes of sweet grain create a flavor akin to honey graham crackers. Fruit notes are quite prominent, we get lots of berry including blackberry, blueberry, and a medley of red berries. More subtle notes of apricot, peach, plum and other stone fruit are also present. The cup finishes with caramel and milk chocolate. 

Producer Notes: 
Honey refers to a middle ground between the two poles of coffee processing (fully washed and full natural.) Put another way, a honey process coffee has some but not all of the fruit stripped away prior to drying. Within that term honey there is a spectrum that ranges from blond to amber to black, depending on how much fruit is left on the coffee bean. This coffee had the majority of the fruit left intact, making it a black honey. Black honey process coffees tend to taste more like natural process coffees and this one is no different. 
This lot was produced by small holder farmers supplying the Joyabaj coffee mill. The farms grow high quality varieties and it is a mix of bourbon, catuai, and caturra that went into this lot. The coffee was first floated to eliminate any underripe coffee cherries, then fermented with the husks still intact for 18 hours. This part of the process helps increase the sweetness of the coffee. The coffee is then partially stripped of the fruit and then dried on raised beds over a period of about six days.  

Brew Notes: 
 A 1:14 brew ratio with water of around 200°F yields full-flavored cups

Coffee Details:
Varieties: 
Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra
Processing Method: 
Black Honey, Dried on Raised Beds
Producer:  
Smallholder Farmers, Joyabaj Wet Mill
Altitude: 
4900–6200’