Guatemala

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About

Since 1859, coffee has been one of the engines of the Guatemalan economy. Coffee exports are the country's largest producer of foreign exchange income, it counts on 40% of all agriculture revenue. It is also the largest employer in the country. 12% of the labour force is directly employed by the coffee industry and thirty per cent indirectly. United States, Japan and some Scandanavian countries are the main segments of export sales. Even if Guatemala still has no conditions to compete on volume with other coffee producers such as Colombia and even Honduras, the country is one of most respected specialty coffee origins. The SH beans are among the best coffees in the world, full bodied, acid and fragrant. Maragogypes are no longer the best in terms of quality.

The main coffee regions of the country are: Huehuetenango, Santa Rosa, San Marcos and Quetzaltenango.

Mainly Arabica

Arabica varieties include: Arabigo, Bourbon, Typica, Margogype. Although the production of Maragogype is getting smaller, Guatemala produces some mutant coffees of high quality. Regretfully however the original Bourbon variety of coffee is being replaced by newer ones, less special but of a higher yield.

Guatemala grows a small quantity of robusta that is mostly sold as washed robusta.

Coffee facts

Crop Periods

Flowering Period

Main : From May until July

Harvesting Period

Main : From August until April

Shipping Period

Main : November until June

Destination countries

1. USA
2. Germany
3. Japan, Belgium

Coffee is also the largest employer in the country. 12% of the labour force is directly employed by the coffee industry and thirty per cent indirectly.

Transit Days

	Imp.	EU	US
Santo Tomas de Castilla (Atlantic)	85%	10	17
Puerto Quetzal (Pacific)	15%	14	27

ICO Figures

Classifications

Varieties

Arabica varieties include: Arabigo, Bourbon, Typica, Maragogype. Although the production of Maragogype is getting smaller, Guatemala produces some mutant coffees of high quality.

By Region

For years Guatemala had been using a region name for one of its best S.H.B. the "S.H.B. Antigua". Later the adjective "Genuine" was added when other "region names" began to be used as a classification method. Exporters and producers initiated this method of classification to help differentiate S.H.B. coffees of very different taste characteristics (for example between Coban and Huehuetenango).

A new method of classification by region has been put in place and is supported and promoted by Anacafé. This classification applies to gourmet SHB.

Highland Huehue

Although all of Guatemala's speciality grade coffee is grown high in the mountains, the highland description was saved for Huehuetenango. The region's magnificent Cuchumatanes mountain range has the highest non-volcanic peaks in all of Central America and is the highest and driest of the three non-volcanic regions of Guatemala. Thanks to the dry hot winds which blow into the mountains from the Tehuantepec plain in Mexico, the region is protected from frost, allowing coffee to be cultivated up to 2,000 metres.

Altitude:	1500-2000 metres
Soil:	Limestone
Major microclimate influence:	Tehuantepec plain
Annual rainfall:	1200-1400 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 20-24°C Relative humidity: 70-80%
Principle drying process:	Sun and dryer
Type of shade:	Inga
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai
Harvest season:	January / April

Volcanic San Marcos

San Marcos gets the coveted "Volcanic" nametag because it has more volcanoes than any of the other coffee-growing regions, including the highest in Central America:Tajumulco and Tacaná. Warmest of all the seven coffee growing regions, it also has the highest rainfall, the most intense rainy season and the earliest flowering.

Altitude:	1400-1800 metres
Soil:	Volcanic
Major microclimate influence:	Pacific Ocean
Annual rainfall:	4000-5000 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 21-27°C Relative humidity: 70-80%
Principle drying process:	Sun and dryer
Type of shade:	Inga
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai
Harvest season:	December / March

Traditional Atitlan

Eighty per cent of traditional Atitlan is grown by small producers, mostly ethnic Maya. "Traditional" reflects the way many process their harvest by hand. Of Guatemala's four volcanic coffee regions, Atitlan soil is the richest in organic matter. Ninety per cent of Traditional Atitlan is cultivated along the slopes of the volcanoes that dominate the shores of Lake Atitlan, the largest and most famous of Guatemala's many crater lakes.

Altitude:	1500-1700 metres
Soil:	Volcanic
Major microclimate influence:	Large crater lake
Annual rainfall:	1800-2300 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 20-23°C Relative humidity: 75-85%
Principle drying process:	Sun
Type of shade:	Gravilea & Inga
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon, Typica Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai
Harvest season:	December / March

Rainforest Coban

"Coban" comes from the Maya Keckchi word "cob" (the place of clouds). Rainforests are characteristic for the region as is the moisture that nourishes them. Coban is quite different from Guatemala's other coffee regions: cloudy, rainy and cool all year round, with soil formed from limestone and clay. A typical rainforest, Coban is cultivated on the region's distinctive rolling hills, under the tropical influences of the Atlantic basin and the jungles to the north.

Altitude:	1300-1500 metres
Soil:	Limestone & Clay
Major microclimate influence:	Atlantic Ocean
Annual rainfall:	3000-4000 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 15-20°C Relative humidity: 85-95%
Principle drying process:	Dryer
Type of shade:	Inga
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon, Margopype Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai, Pache
Harvest season:	December / March

Fraijanes Plateau

This region is so high, extensive and rugged that most people never realise they are standing on a plateau, much less one that defines the geographical heart of the country and rivals Antigua as the oldest coffee growing region in the country. Volcanic soil filled with pumice, very high altitude and an active volcano are characteristics that Fraijanes shares with nearby Antigua. But plenty of rain, high and variable humidity, and a wider temperature range gives it a different climate.

Altitude:	1400-1800 metres
Soil:	Volcanic with pumice
Major microclimate influence:	Highland plain
Annual rainfall:	1500-3000 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 12-26°C Relative humidity: 70-90%
Principle drying process:	Sun
Type of shade:	Inga
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai, Pache
Harvest season:	December / February

Antigua Classic

Antigua's coffee is "Classic" because it comes from Guatemala's oldest and best-known coffee growing region. Rich volcanic soil, low humidity, lots of sun and cool nights characterise the Antigua region. The valley is dominated by the volcanoes of Agua, Acetenango and Fuego. Every once in a while, Fuego, one of Guatemala's active volcanoes, adds a fresh dusting of mineral rich ash to Antigua's soil.

Altitude:	1500-1700 metres
Soil:	Volcanic with pumice
Major microclimate influence:	Enclosed valley
Annual rainfall:	800 -1200 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 18-22°C Relative humidity: 65%
Principle drying process:	Sun
Type of shade:	Gravilea
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai
Harvest season:	January / mid-March

New Oriente

It is called "Oriente" because it's Guatemala's easternmost speciality coffee region and called "New" because it's the newest producer of speciality coffee and is bursting with energy. Rainy and cloudy, Oriente is similar to Coban in climate, only less so. Located over what was once a volcanic range, it soil is derived from metamorphic rock. This makes it balance in minerals and very different from Guatemala's volcanic regions, all of which have seen volcanic activity since coffee was first planted.

Altitude:	1300-1700 metres
Soil:	Metamorphic and clay
Major microclimate influence:	Atlantic Ocean
Annual rainfall:	1800-2000 mm
Average temperature:	Low / High: 18-25°C Relative humidity: 70-80%
Principle drying process:	Sun and dryer
Type of shade:	Inga
Varieties:	Taller-growing: Bourbon Shorter-growing: Caturra, Catuai, Pache
Harvest season:	December / March

By altitude

Quality	Altitude

Good Washed	700 metres
Extra Good Washed	700 / 850 metres
Prime Washed	600 / 900metres
Extra Prime (E.P.)	900 / 1100 metres
Semi Hard Bean (S.H.)	1100 / 1200 metres
Hard Bean (H.B.)	1200 / 1400 metres
Fancy Hard Bean	1500 / 1600 metres
Strictly Hard Bean (S.H.B.)	1600 / 1700 metres

By Defects

US preparation	- 100% above screen 13 - Homogeneous colour - Humidity 9-12% - Defects max 23 per 300 gr (only for washed Arabicas) - clean cup, without defects
Euro preparation	- 100% above screen 15 (with a tolerance of 5% above scr 14) - Homogeneous and green colour - Humidity 9-12% - Defects max 8 per 300 gr - clean cup, without defects
Gourmet preparation	- 100% above screen 16 with a tolerance of 15% above screen 15, no peaberries nor elephants - Homogeneous and green colour - Humidity between 11 & 12% - Defects max 5 per 300 gr and free from quakers - clean cup, without defects and with acidity as well as body

By Screensize

US preparation	100% above screen 13
European preparation	100% above screen 15 (with a tolerance of 5% above scr 14)
Gourmet preparation	100% above screen 16 with a tolerance of 15% above screen 15, no peaberries or elephants

Nice to know

The "Strictly Hard Bean" coffees are among the best in the world : complete, full bodied taste, acid and fragrant cup.

Typical description

Guatemala SHB EP Huehuetenango
Guatemala Strictly Hard Bean, European Prep. from the region of Huehuetenango

Processing

Picking ⁽¹⁾	Mainly by hand
Washing ⁽²⁾	Wet - Milled
Fermentation ⁽³⁾	In tanks for approx 36 hours and washed under pressure
Drying ⁽⁴⁾	In the sun on patios / artificially in tower or drum dryers
Sorting	manually/electronic

⁽¹⁾ About Picking:

Throughout the country ripe cherries are being picked during the months of September to April. The smaller planters deliver the daily yield to small collecting stations where they get a receipt for the quantity & quality delivered. From these stations the coffee is transported in lorries to the central processing plants (Beneficios). The big planters deliver directly to the Beneficios or (in most cases) handle the coffee themselves.

⁽²) About Washing

The cherry coffee supplied to the beneficios is pregraded in a siphon tank with the aid of water. Stones and other heavy foreign matter sink to the bottom while wood, empty or bad cherries float to the top and are washed away. The remaining good cherries are then conducted, with water, to drum pulpers. After pulping the beans are once again screened to remove lighter floating particles and channelled through a siphon into the fermentation tanks. In contradiction with Costa Rica, Guatemala may still use water for density selection.

⁽³⁾About Fermentation

Depending upon the individual size of the Beneficios, the fermentation tanks are usually made of either sheet steel, brick or concrete. Coffee is placed in these tanks, for about 36 hours at a temperature varying from 21° to 28° Celsius. The fermentation process is complete when all mucilage has been removed and the beans make a crunching sound when rubbed together.

After fermentation, the beans are washed out of the tanks with water and are conveyed through a pipeline or washing channels using special pumps. During this process all residual mucilage is rubbed off by the mutual friction among the beans. Finally the coffee is once again screened in the syphon tank and washed with fresh water before it's ready for drying. Water is usually taken from wells or rivers.

⁽⁴⁾ About Drying

The clean and drained parchment coffee is spread out to dry, in the sun, in a layer of about 15cm thick on drying grounds (usually concrete or for better coffees stone or clay). The coffee is then continuously turned over for approximately 5 or 6 days by hand using slides or small tractors equipped with a pushing device resembling a snowplough. In the artificial drying method, the coffee is dried in drum dryers at a temperature of about 60°Celsius. These drum dryers use dry parchment shells, wood or diesel for fuel and the average drying process will take about 20-36 hours.

Nice to know

Over 150 years of experience and tradition are reflected in Guatemala's fine coffees.

Coffee Environment

About Exporters

In Guatemala, coffee is grown on 269,000 hectares of land spread throughout nearly every corner of the country and exerts considerable influence over all of its economic sectors. Milling operations are dispersed throughout the land, and directly involves one sixth of the population and nearly everyone else indirectly. Guatemala has a wide variety of qualities and commercial grades, prepared in over 4,000 wet mills. In all, coffee exports represent, on average, over 35% of total exports and 6% of the Gross National Product (GNP). In all, there are 44,000 coffee producers of which the bulk is associated in cooperatives which account for 69% of all producers. Small independant farmers account for 6% of the growers and medium-size farms are 2,5%.

About 35 companies account for 90 per cent of the total exports, the five largest of which register an average of 46 per cent of sales each crop year.

A.N.A.C.A.F.E. (Associacion National del Cafe) is a regulatory agency. Anacafé started as the Central Coffee Office in 1960.

Anacafé projects

Small Producers Productivity Project (begun in 1986)

Program attacks traditional low productivity among small producers head-on through technology transfer of cultivation process and access to supervised credit through established associations of small producers or "friendship and work" groups.

Credit Program with Banrural (begun in 1999)

Anacafé signed with this agricultural development bank, a credit program which in its first year already benefited more than 1,500 small producers.

Funrural (Foundation for Rural Development began in 1986)

Guatemala's coffee sector addressing social issues in the health and educational sector.

CFO and ICO projects in Guatemala

Integrated management of coffee berry borer

The project promotes sustainable developments by introducing an effective integrated pest management system and reducing the use of chemical pest control methods. It will also enhance productivity and competitiveness through producing higher quality coffee and reducing production losses.

Study on coffee marketing systems and policies.

The project will evaluate coffee marketing systems and policies and identify factors which are important for effective marketing. The results will guide developing countries in improving the efficiency of marketing their coffee.

Nice to know

The share of SHB coffees has grown the most. If smuggling out of Honduras would keep on decreasing statistics might show lower exports even if the production rises.

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