Finca La Senda · GUATEMALA


Finca La Senda · GUATEMALA
taste like … red current · pecan · nougat · honey
. 1700m · Aldea el Soccoro, Guatemala
. hand-picked · natural salvaje · Pache variety
Best Brewed with: Filter
Filter _ Origami 60g/L & 93°C, blooming 40" + 1-2-3 pours each 30" (floral/peach/citrus complexity, malic acidity, hint of rum, honey)
Espresso _ IN 19g : OUT 40g & 25" (stone fruits, peachy, bit of cinnamon & sweet honey aftertaste)
The Place
Finca La Senda is located in the highlands of El Soccoro. The altitude, combined with warm days and cool nights, allows coffee cherries to ripen slowly, developing natural sweetness and complexity. The farm’s diverse ecosystem, including wild shade trees and natural vegetation.
The process
begins with the careful re-selection of the ripest coffee cherries, judged by their high Brix levels, ensuring only the best are used. After harvesting, the cherries undergo an initial aerobic rest for 48 hours, allowing them to stabilise before fermentation.
Next, the cherries enter a 150-hour anaerobic fermentation phase, where they are sealed off from oxygen. This controlled environment enhances the enzymatic processes, creating rich and complex flavours.
This is followed by a slow drying phase, lasting approximately 25 days under natural shade, which gradually locks in the coffee’s unique aromas and qualities.
The People
Finca la Senda, which is now run by Arnoldo Pérez-Melendez and his wife Maria Eugenia Escobar, was founded in 1940.
Arnoldo was a ‘traditional’ coffee-producing family until mid-2017. Today, Arnoldo utilises his in-depth knowledge of farming, while Maria Eugenia uses her skills as a talented cook to learn and refine the best practices of coffee fermentation and processing.
The family decided to build their own wet mill, which began construction in April 2017 and was completed in November of the same year. For high-quality coffee, the pickers only have to select cherries with the desired degree of ripeness during the harvest season. This means twice as much work.
This is also the reason why La Senda pays double the price per basket picked.
🍑🍇🍯 The flavour profile reflects both its wild environment and the meticulous care in its production expect notes of stone fruits, raisin, hint of rum and dark honey sweetness.