Guatemala San Antonio
I headed into this bag with some high expectations seeing notes of Orange, Baker’s Chocolate and Walnut. Had my brain not entirely skipped over the word “Baker’s” above I think I would have been better prepared for the cup on the first try. I loved the initial walnut note, and am finding that similar notes might be something I seek out. However, on the hot sips, that bakers chocolate note continually came up to leave a little bitterness I didn’t want at the end of the sip. This is probably another example of me not being super patient with the cup as I did feel this was less prominent as the cup cooled. But the memory of that little extra bitter note stuck with me throughout the cup, and I felt it masked a bit of the orange note I expected to enjoy a bit more.
This one is Guatemala San Antonio, a washed lot of Catuai, Bourbon, and Typica from about 1,800 meters in the Sierra de Las Minas, in El Progreso around San Antonio La Paz. Cultivar has been buying it from Los Volcanes since 2017. It is not one farm. It is a regional blend from 225 smallholders organized by Don Higinio Gomez. The town’s work is agriculture: coffee, corn, beans, tomatoes, sugar cane, and they also carve jade. More than half the people live out in the farming areas around it. ANACAFÉ does not list this as one of the official Guatemala coffee regions, which is why this lot gets talked about as a newer traceable blend instead of a name you already know off the map.
I used my standard setup of 37g of coffee to 600ml of water in the Chemex. This bag also felt a bit lighter in body, with a bit more of a tea like feel. I would rank this bag as a Worth A Try, not my favorite from Cultivar, but I imagine someone with tasting note preferences different from my own could love this bag. Having tried a few bags from the team here, it is definitely a roaster I want to keep an eye on to explore more coffee.
A little about Cultivar. They have been roasting in East Dallas since 2009. Jonathan Meadows and Nathan Shelton started it, and they still go on the buying trips and pick the lots themselves, instead of just ordering whatever a catalog already roasted. The cafe sits inside Goodfriend Package, a beer and sandwich spot, and a pretty perfect place for a roaster cafe if you ask me. Cultivar also has a few subscriptions if you don't want to think about reordering. Filter, Limited Release, and Espresso, and you can swap or skip them depending on your mood and tastes.