On August 26th of this year, we will release a very special package of items hailing from the beautiful country of Guatemala. We have secured just 20 pounds (green) of a remarkable Guatemalan Gesha (or “Geisha,” if you prefer) varietal from a farm in the Acatenango area. The farm sits in the shadow of the Acatenango volcano resulting in nutrient-rich soil. The result is a truly rare cup of coffee. These are some of the aromatics and flavors you may notice in the cup:
Aromatics featuring floral jasmine along with strong wafts of muscovado (unrefined sugar with molasses still intact) and crème brûlée.
Flavor notes of tropical fruits, both herbal and black teas, cinnamon sticks, honeyed sweetness, weighty mouthfeel, and brilliant (and balanced) acidity.
A coffee this exceptional really begs for some type of commensurately beautiful packaging. The coffee itself is packaged in our lovely pearl-white reserve series bags which are enclosed within a hand-woven drawstring sack made by the skilled artisans in Guatemala who work with a non-profit organization called Sharing the Dream. This is a fantastic group “promoting sustainable fair trade and weaving a tapestry of opportunity in Guatemala.” We found Sharing the Dream several months ago as we were preparing for this special release and asked if their weavers in Guatemala would be able to create a completely custom drawstring sack for this project. They were happy to do so, and the resulting product turned out better than we had even imagined. The quality of the craftsmanship is immediately apparent, and the color scheme falls right in line with the Ironclad branding. This is a drawstring sack you can use for any number of purposes long after that beautiful coffee has all been imbibed. The sack will be a lasting reminder of the nice things coming out of Guatemala.
To round out the all-Guatemalan theme of this special release, we’ll be hosting a debut event at AlterNatives Boutique in the Carytown neighborhood right here in Richmond. AlterNatives is a non-profit business trust established by the Highland Support Project in 1993 for the purpose of developing markets for weavings of Highland Maya women widowed by political violence in Guatemala. Guests will enjoy samples of the very special Guatemalan Gesha coffee surrounded by the stunningly beautiful pieces that have been hand-made with love and care by these ladies in Guatemala. We’re also working on tracking down a musician to play live Guatemalan folk music — stay tuned for details on that.
Here is a really well-written review of this coffee to give you an idea of what you may expect.
We’ll have only 30 of the eight-ounce bags for sale on the day — and those will be reserved and purchased ahead of time via ticket sales on EventBrite. However, this has created so much “buzz” two weeks before the event has even occurred that we have already decided to do this all over again in the near future. So, if you are not able to secure one of the small number of bags this time around, be on the lookout for the next release later this year.
The post Rolling Out the Very Best of Guatemala appeared first on Ironclad Coffee Roasters.