Coffea Diversa - Guatemala - Laurina Pointu - Washed
A very limited and special coffee from Coffea Diversa; Laurina Pointu! This variety is famed for its naturally low caffeine content and 'pointed' fruit and seeds. Testing shows it is only 0.34% caffeine, whereas most Arabica is around 1.8%. This Laurina was one of the most interesting profiles on the entire cupping table: floral, tea-like, herbal, exotic fruits like melon and banana, some spice, mellow acidity, and a delicate body. It is certainly a coffee to savour, in very limited quantity! Expect notes of sencha, banana, & chamomile.
Info
Farm
Gonzalo Hernandez and Jose Padilla founded Coffea Diversa Suchitan in 2011, as an extension of the original Coffea Diversa garden in Biolley, Costa Rica. They settled in what they believe was the best region in Guatemala for cultivating a large catalogue of unique, high-quality varieties. They decided upon Volcan de Suchitan as the best microclimate to nurture these varieties and help them reach their full potential. Today, they successfully cultivate a plethora of extremely rare coffee species and varieties.
Microclimate
The farm receives between 950-1300mm of rainfall per year and has Inga, avocado, and other native trees for shade. This 'agroforesty' model provides adequate shade and keeps the temperatures low and stable and is important for maintaining climatic stability throughout the year.
Future
Gonzalo believes that the sustainabilitiy of this type of coffee farming is immense, as there is no genetically uniform population like there is in a mono-varietal plantation. These traditional farms are more susceptible to pests and diseases and lack the biodiversity of a 'multi' farm.
Elevation
Coffea Diversa sits at 1500-2050 masl in Jutiapa, Volcan de Suchitan on black volcanic soils.
Variety
The Laurina Pointed has short branches, narrow leaves, the bean shape is narrow and pointed on one side, and the caffeine content is just 0.34%. It is highly susceptible to all diseases, particularly Leaf Rust, and is extremely low-yielding.
Process
This Laurina is fully-washed to showcase the varieties complexity, and to retain it's naturally low acidity.
Genetics
"We have multiple botanical variants growing in the same ‘terroir’ and microclimate. So the climatic variable is fixed, and one can assess solely the genetic expression of each variety."
Cupping through Coffea Diversa's catalogue is truly a coffee enthusiasts golden ticket. It is life-changing. Coffee, like any industry, has trends. The most recent was the 'fermentation' or processing trend, the next, or current, is certainly that of varieties and the exploration of coffee plant genetics. You then realise Gonzalo began Coffea Diversa in 2003, and that the rest of us are just late to the party. In fact the industry as a whole is still catching up, World Coffee Research lists only 53 coffee varieties in their 'Varieties Catalogue'...
Coffea Diversa
“The name Coffea Diversa is latin for 'diversity of coffee'.”
The name seems fitting. The variety garden in Biolley, Costa Rica, currently holds 850 coffee varieties, all with 10 plants of each. Gonzalo selects the most unique and interesting coffees to grow in small plots as 'production'. Gonzalo now has coffee gardens in both Guatemala and the Jamaican blue mountains, to expand production and assess how these varieties grow in different terroirs. They also need the land: some of these varieties are so incredibly low-yielding that expansion was necessary. Take Kapataka for example, Gonzalo has 750 plants of this rare species, it yielded 4 pounds of coffee...
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