Region: Cobán
Located near the town of San Cristóbal Verapaz, in the cool, rainy reaches of Cobán, Guatemala, Finca San Lorenzo nestles in the verdant hills at around 1,500 metres above sea level. San Lorenzo is the Valdés family’s second farm, purchased in 1987 as a sort of ‘little brother’ to another of our favourite Guatemala farms, Santa Isabel.
The annual precipitation at San Lorenzo is around 3,000mm, with regular rainfall between nine and ten months of the year. Constant rain (much of it gentle drizzle) means that flowering is very staggered, with 8-9 flowerings per year. Due to this prolonged flowering season, coffee ripens at different stages, which means that up to 10 passes (with breaks of up to 14 days between passes) are needed to ensure that only the very ripest cherries are selected.
After harvesting, the red cherries are taken to the wet mill at Santa Isabel, which lies very close by. They are then mechanically pulped. Coffee is fermented for up to 48 hours and is covered at night to maintain constant temperatures. After fermentation, the coffee is washed and then soaked in clean water for 24 hours to remove any traces of mucilage before being dried. It is important to note that Santa Isabel and San Lorenzo lots are processed completely separately and great care is taken to preserve the integrity of each lot of coffee from the two farms.
Most of the coffee is dried for at least one day on the patios. Usually, after spending one day on the patio, the coffee is stored overnight in wooden boxes before being moved to the greenhouses to dry between
15 and 30 days, or until a minimum of 30% humidity is reached. Much of San Lorenzo’s coffee is partially dried and/or finished in guardiolas according to a very strict and controlled drying schedule. Coffee is
rotated in these mechanical driers at no more than 40°C and is rested between dryings to stabilise humidity. Once the parchment coffee reaches a constant 15% humidity, it is rested for at least 21 days in the warehouse before being delivered to the dry mill for milling.
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