T'zun-Wit'z (front)
  • T'zun-Wit'z (front)
  • T'zun-Wit'z (rear)
  • T'zun-Wit'z (story)

Guatemala

T'zun-Wit'z, Benito Ramos - Guatemala

250g


QUALITY SCORE: 87.50

Cup Notes
Pomegranate / Plum / White grape / Caramel

Suggested for espresso and filter


when we roast

We freshly roast to order all coffees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding national holidays), and ship the same day! Cut-off time is 11:59pm (UTC+1) of the day before the roast day. *We only ship whole beans*

Details

Quality Score
88.00
Producer
Benito Ramos
Country
Guatemala
Terroir
Huehuetenango
Altitude
1650 mt
Process
Classic Washed
Arabica cultivar
Caturra and Bourbon
Picked in
January 2019
Arrived in
June 2019
Shipped in
Jute + GrainPro
Roast profile by
Rubens Gardelli
Roasted on
Customised solid-drum roaster

THE STORY BEHIND

Huehuetenango is one of Guatemala’s three non-volcanic regions, as well as its highest and driest under cultivation, making it one of the best for coffee production.

Huehuetenango’s extreme remoteness requires that nearly all producers process their own coffee. Fortunately, the region has abundant rivers and streams, making it relatively easy for producers to set up mills. Still more fortunately, Huehue’s geographic conditions help to create exceptional coffees with a distinct acidity and fruity flavors.
Benito Ramos is a second-generation coffee producer in Concepion Huista, Huehuetenango region. The name of Benito’s farm, T’zun-Wit’z, comes from the local indigenous language Popti. T’zun means “Birth” and Wit’z translates into “The Hill” so the farm is called “Birth of the Hill”. 

“In the beginning we were farming beans and corn but my dad decided to plant coffee trees on the farm. With a little training we achieved some good results”, Benito explains. Benito is part of Cooperative El Sendero, which provides support and educations for coffee producers in and around Concepcion Huista. In the future Benito is interested in strengthening his agronomic practises and his post-harvest processes. 

“The most interesting learning for me has been to see our plants and farm to grow. Thanks to coffee my children have been able to study. The only time I worry is when the prices will go down but we are motivated to grow coffee for many years to come”, Benito tells. 

T'zun-Wit'z (story)

THE VARIETY

Caturra coffee varietal was developed by the Alcides Carvalho Coffee Center of the IAC, Instituto Agronomico of the Sao Paulo State in Brazil.
In 1937, IAC received seed samples of genetic materials originated on the border of the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. It was from Red Caturra and yellow Caturra cultivars. These two cultivars originated by natural mutation of Bourbon Red, originally a tall coffee shrub, found in the Serra do Caparaó , which is now a mountainous National Park north east of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
These are the main agronomic characteristics of the Red and Yellow Caturra varietals:
1. It is the of small size, of reduced length of internodes, leaves and side branches, providing compact appearance to the coffee shrub.
2. This is the first naturally occurred coffee mutation found, with small size and high yield capacity
3. They have excellent quality in the cup because they have virtually 100% of the Bourbon coffee in their genetic makeup.
4. the conditions in which they were planted in Brazil to cultivate Caturra showed low hardiness and consequent lack of vigor after a few harvests, which led to the premature depletion in yield.


Bourbon is one of the most culturally and genetically important C. arabica varieties in the world, known for excellent quality in the cup at the highest altitudes.
It is one of the two main cultivars from which new cultivars are bred, the other being typical. Historical records indicate that Bourbon was taken from the coffee forests of Southwestern Ethiopia to Yemen, where it were cultivated as a crop; recent genetic studies have confirmed this.
Bourbon coffee was first produced in Réunion, which was known as Bourbon island before 1789. It was later taken by the French to mainland Africa and to Latin America.
Bourbon grows best at heights between 1,100 and 2,000 meters and gives a 20-30% higher yield than Typica. It has a commercially viable level of yield potential and growth habit but is generally susceptible to disease and pests.

T'zun-Wit'z (variety)

THE FERMENTATION PROCESS

Carlos and his team picked selectively and delivered the cherries to the Aruco wet mill, where the manager cleaned and sorted the cherries before macerating them in During the harvest Benito made sure that his cherries were picked in three passes to ensure that only the ripest cherries were picked. The cherries were depulped with the clean depulper the same day of the picking. The coffee was then fermented with water in plastic tubs for 36 hours. After washing the coffee was then soaked another 12 hours in water and eventually taken to the patios to dry for six days.

T'zun-Wit'z (fermentation)