Plot Guatemala La Senda Whole Bean

7oz / 200g Whole Bean
Notes: Tropical Fruit, Rich Chocolate, Boozy
Region: Aldea El Socorro, Acatenango, Chimaltenango
Producer: Arnoldo Perez Melendez and Maria Eugenia Escobar
Varietal: Marsellesa
Process: Anoxic Natural with Mosto
Elevation: 1800 m
Harvest: December 2023 - February 2024
 
From Plot:
 
"Each year, Maria Eugenia conducts small-scale experiments alongside their usual production. This particular experiment aimed to elevate this humble cultivar through innovative processing. Through mosto fermentation, they enhanced the cup profile, creating a coffee that bursts with tropical fruit flavours, complemented by rich chocolate notes and a delightful booziness.
 
Story:
 
Marsellesa comes from the Sarchimor family, a hybrid progeny of Villa Sarchi (a natural Bourbon mutation) and the Timor Hybrid (a natural interspecies cross between Arabica and Canephora). While known for its resilience to disease, it’s not typically celebrated for its cup profile. This is where careful processing can enhance a coffee’s potential and elevate what might otherwise be used in bulk blends.
 
For this season’s experiments, Maria chose to ferment this coffee with microbe-rich mosto (juice from fermentation). After harvest, the coffee rests for four hours before being sealed in a barrel to ferment for 150 hours with added mosto. The whole cherries are then dried slowly on raised beds over 28 days, ensuring better airflow and protection from humidity at night. After drying, the coffee rests in a warehouse for 30 days to stabilize before export preparation.
 
Producer:
 
We’ve been buying coffee from Finca La Senda since we launched in 2019, and it’s a relationship we truly value. This family-run farm takes processing and experimentation to another level, consistently producing stunning lots.
Finca La Senda, now managed by Arnoldo Pérez Melendez and his wife Maria Eugenia Escobar, traces its roots to the 1940s when Arnoldo’s father pioneered coffee cultivation in the vicinity of Aldea El Socorro, Acatenango. The finca stretches from the village borders to Mount Balàm—”the hill of the Jaguar” in the native language. Coffee is cultivated at altitudes between 1,550 and 1,970 meters above sea level, covering approximately 27 hectares. Beyond these elevations, nature is left undisturbed, preserving the unique biosphere.
 
Until 2017, Arnoldo supplied coffee to the local cooperative. However, after meeting a specialty coffee consultant, he recognized the potential of his finca’s cherries and shifted focus to producing specialty micro-lots. Construction of processing facilities (beneficio) began in April 2017 and was completed within six months, just in time for the 2018 harvest.
 
Arnoldo applied his extensive agricultural knowledge, while Maria Eugenia utilized her culinary expertise to master and refine coffee fermentation and processing techniques. In its inaugural processing year, Finca La Senda concentrated on consistent cherry selection, extended and controlled fermentations, and slow shade-drying.
 
La Senda has established a rigorous harvesting protocol for all their lots. Cherries are harvested once they reach an average of 24 degrees Brix—a measure of the fruit’s sugar content. The coffee is then transported to the mill in clean containers to prevent damage. It’s washed in a water tank, allowing less dense cherries to float and be easily removed. Unripe, overripe, and defective fruits are manually sorted out, and the remaining cherries rest for 24 hours before processing begins."