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La Delicía Estate

Country: Guatemala

Grade: SHB

Region: Fraijanes

Elevation: 1675 meters

Harvest Period: October to February

Processing Method: Washed

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra

Processing Mill: La Delicía Estate

01 | Region Introduction

La Delicía Estate (Las Delicías)

The Fraijanes region surrounds the capital city of Guatemala. It features high elevation, abundant rainfall, and significant humidity variation. The volcanic ash from Guatemala’s most active volcano, Pacaya, enriches the soil with essential minerals, though it also occasionally affects personal safety and infrastructure.

The unique geographical conditions of the Fraijanes plateau—volcanic soil, high altitude, humid and rainy climate, and active volcanic activity—make it distinctive. Among Guatemala’s three active volcanoes, Pacaya is the most dynamic, often shrouding the plateau in a fine layer of dust while providing ample minerals to the soil. During the coffee drying period, this area enjoys strong sunlight. Although mornings are often cloudy and foggy, the fog typically clears quickly, ensuring good drying conditions.

Coffee cultivation at La Delicía Estate in the Fraijanes plateau began in 1920. The estate grows a diverse range of varieties, including Bourbon, Caturra, and Pacamara, across a total farm area of 205 acres (1 acre = 4046.8 square meters). Of this, 173 acres are dedicated to coffee cultivation, while the remaining 32 acres consist of pristine forest that serves as a habitat for various local wildlife species. The farm has several natural springs, which provide ample high-quality irrigation water during the dry season and also power the wet mill’s water-processing system.

02 | Processing Method

In response to the limitations of traditional sun-drying methods, the washed process emerged. Harvested cherries are depulped using a pulper to remove most of the fruit flesh from the beans, then the parchment-covered beans are transferred to a clean water tank and soaked to ferment, fully removing the residual pulp layer. In the past (around five years ago), the washed method was often the preferred choice for processing high-quality coffee beans.

Through water processing, underripe and defective beans can be sorted out due to buoyancy differences, and the fermentation process is easier to control. As a result, the flavor lacks the off-notes often found in sun-dried beans, instead offering pronounced acidity, slightly higher complexity, and a cleaner cup profile (free of negative flavors such as astringency or sharpness). However, this “cleanness” also slightly reduces flavor richness.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Similar to other Central American coffee-producing countries like Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras, Guatemala uses elevation as the basis for grading. Coffee produced at higher elevations is generally of higher quality because lower temperatures slow growth, allowing better accumulation of desirable compounds.

The green bean surface has minimal silverskin and almost no noticeable defects, placing it in the premium grade category. The beans exhibit grassy and spicy notes, along with a distinctive smoky aroma, resulting in a strong fragrance.

This is why elevation is used as a quality grading criterion. So, what does the elevation-based grading system look like? Taking Guatemala as an example, the higher the elevation, the greater the bean density, and the higher the grade of the green coffee beans:

The highest grade is SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), grown at elevations above 1350m;

Next is HB (Hard Bean), grown at elevations between 1200m–1400m;

There is also SH (Semi-Hard Bean), grown at 1200m.

Roast Analysis

La Delicía consists of two varieties with different densities, so when blending beans of differing densities, the charge temperature is set based on the Bourbon variety. During blooming, use the Caturra variety as the benchmark—that is, for new-season beans with high density (when blending more than one type of bean, base the blooming phase on the densest bean; preheat gently for the first minute).

YANG-800N, charge 550g of green beans, specific procedure:

Preheat roaster to 200°C, set airflow to 3. After 1-minute bloom, reduce heat to 160°C, keep airflow unchanged. At 165°C, reduce heat again to 140°C, roast until 5’40”, reaching 153.9°C, when the bean surface turns yellow and grassy notes fully dissipate, indicating dehydration is complete. Set airflow to 4.

At 9 minutes, when the bean surface shows rough wrinkles and dark speckles and the toastiness clearly transitions to coffee aroma, it signals the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack begins at 9’22”, reduce heat to 80°C, open airflow fully to 5 (adjust heat very cautiously to avoid extinguishing cracking sounds). At 197.2°C, drop the beans.