Guatemala - Fredy Orantes' Buena Vista Pacamara

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter, would be fine on 'spro with rest.

Lightest Roast Influence: Our first test roast was delightful but a little heavy and emphasising the more choco-forward elements of the processing - some tweaks to our heat application, shortening the development time but lengthening the roast has brought out a much cleaner, brighter and juicy version of this coffee

Best Rested: 3-4 weeks

Filter: 64g/L, 96°C when fresh but when well rested you can go down to 91-92°C

Espresso: 18g/48g/26-30s. Can pull tighter ratios if it pleases you

We’re tasting: Fruity and rich process-led aromatics - milky earl grey, blueberry muffin, stewed fruits & fig. In the cup it's heavy bodied and slightly boozy - almost like champagne chocolate truffles, alongside cherry pie, stewed apple, cinnamon and dried apricots. As it cools developing into apricot jam, alongside white chocolate & the marzipan hint of noyaux. Brilliant to get this cup character without much roaster influence.

Traceability

The Story

Fredy Orantes and his 7-hectare Finca Buena Vista have consistently been a jewel in the Primavera offer for Guatemala, delivering exceptional quality year after year across multiple varieties and processing methods. Located at 1900 MASL in the Fraijanes region, the farm sits at relatively high elevation for the area, which proves ideal for cultivating the more demanding varieties that Orantes specialises in.

Fraijanes presents a different microclimate compared to Guatemala's other renowned regions - it's notably warmer than the cooler highlands of Huehuetenango, with volcanic soils deposited by nearby Volcán Pacaya providing mineral-rich growing conditions. Whilst the region can be more prone to drought conditions, this characteristic actually creates perfect circumstances for processing naturals and honey process lots, where extended drying periods and abundant sunshine become advantages rather than obstacles.

Orantes has capitalised on these conditions by focusing on rare cultivars alongside traditional varieties. His plantings include Gesha and Pacamara - both varieties that thrive at altitude and reward careful cultivation - grown alongside Yellow Catuaí. The quality achieved across all three varieties demonstrates both the farm's potential and Orantes' technical expertise in variety-specific cultivation techniques.

The operation maintains a particular focus on biodiversity and environmental sustainability, employing shade-growing systems and prioritising soil health through organic composting programmes. This unfenced approach allows natural wildlife corridors to remain intact whilst supporting ecosystem balance across the property. Such practices contribute not only to environmental stewardship but also to the complex flavour development that characterises exceptional specialty coffee - more and more we see producers start to talk about the importance of soil health in the future of Speciality coffee, something that Primavera is focusing on with their bio-char project.

Having tried Fredy's coffees over many years (both as green samples and from other roasters), the consistency of quality has been remarkable - these have been consistent bangers year on year. We're glad we took the plunge this year - not only our first Pacamara, but also Primavera's first time packaging a lot in vac-boxes for export - helping preserve that excellent quality from harvest to arrival.