Species / Process / Region: Arabica · Fully Washed · Huehuetenango, Antigua, Atitlán

Bourbon arrived in Guatemala from Réunion via El Salvador and has been grown in the highland farms since the 19th century. At altitude in Huehuetenango, the slow ripening produces a cup that's noticeably different from the same variety in Brazil: more fruit-forward, winey, with a complexity that earns its lower yields. Bourbon is the prestige variety in Guatemalan specialty - the one producers point to when they want to show what the origin can do.

Tasting notes: Dark cherry · Brown sugar · Winey · Complex

Flavour profile:
Acidity: Medium–High
Body: Medium–Full
Sweetness: High
Bitterness: Low

Altitude: 1,500–2,000m

Best roast: Light–Medium

Species / Process / Region: Arabica · Fully Washed · Widespread - all major regions

The productive workhorse of Guatemalan coffee, adopted from the 1960s onward for its compact size and reliable yield. Caturra delivers clean, bright, well-structured cups across Guatemala's growing regions, but the version from Huehuetenango deserves specific attention: the altitude and the nortes winds push the variety's inherent brightness into something more complex and expressive than you'd expect from a commercial workhorse.

Tasting notes: Citrus · Milk chocolate · Clean · Bright

Flavour profile:
Acidity: Medium–High
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Medium
Bitterness: Low

Altitude: 1,300–2,000m

Best roast: Light–Medium

Species / Process / Region: Arabica · Fully Washed · Widespread - all major regions

Mundo Novo crossed with Caturra, widely planted across Guatemala for its consistency and productivity. Catuaí holds its cherries on the branch well after ripening - an underappreciated practical advantage in regions where rain timing is unpredictable and a late harvest can cost a lot. The cup is balanced and clean rather than complex, but that reliability makes it a significant contributor to the character of Guatemalan regional lots.

Tasting notes: Caramel · Mild citrus · Balanced · Clean

Flavour profile:
Acidity: Medium
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Medium
Bitterness: Low

Altitude: 1,300–2,000m

Best roast: Medium

Species / Process / Region: Arabica · Fully Washed · Older farms, Huehuetenango, Cobán

The original Arabica variety - the one that made it from Yemen to Europe to the Caribbean and eventually into Guatemala's highland farms. Typica has been largely replaced by more productive cultivars but holds on in remote pockets of Huehuetenango on farms where replanting never happened. The cup is elegant and delicate rather than bright - clean sweetness and soft acidity that tells you something about what Guatemalan coffee tasted like before the modern breeding programmes.

Tasting notes: Clean · Delicate · Mild fruit · Sweet

Flavour profile:
Acidity: Medium
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Medium–High
Bitterness: Low

Altitude: 1,400–1,900m

Best roast: Light

Species / Process / Region: Arabica · Fully Washed · New Oriente (Jalapa), some Huehuetenango

A dwarf Typica mutation discovered on Finca El Brito in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Santa Rosa - one of the few varieties that can genuinely claim Guatemala as its place of origin. Pache is compact like Caturra but genetically it's Typica, and the cup reflects that: sweet and mild rather than bright, with a gentle complexity rather than sharp acidity. Not widely known outside Guatemala, but worth understanding as evidence that the country has a unique varietal story beyond the Central American standards.

Tasting notes: Mild fruit · Sweet · Light body · Clean

Flavour profile:
Acidity: Low–Medium
Body: Light–Medium
Sweetness: High
Bitterness: Low

Altitude: 1,200–1,600m

Best roast: Light–Medium

Species / Process / Region: Arabica · Fully Washed · Huehuetenango, Cobán - small volumes

First discovered in Brazil's Bahia state, Maragogype is a Typica mutation that produces beans dramatically larger than any other Arabica - up to three times the standard size. In Guatemala it's grown in small volumes in Huehuetenango and Cobán, and it tends to attract attention more for its appearance than its flavour profile. The cup is mild and silky, with low acidity and a delicate body - not complex, but distinctive. For home roasters curious about variety, it's worth experiencing at least once.

Tasting notes: Mild · Silky · Low acidity · Delicate

Flavour profile:
Acidity: Low
Body: Medium–Light
Sweetness: Medium
Bitterness: Low

Altitude: 1,200–1,700m

Best roast: Medium

