Guatemala America Perez

Highlights

“America Perez Ramirez farms four small parcels around Canoguitas, Huehuetenango, alongside her father Alejandro Ramirez Mendez, on land the family built up from her grandfather's first purchase after more than twenty years of farm labor. Coffee is their primary income, and the parcels are planted mostly with Caturra and Bourbon beneath chalum and grevillea shade. Cherries are picked at peak ripeness and depulped the same day, then fermented about twelve hours in open cement tanks before washing, with water changed three to four times as floaters and defects are removed. Parchment dries in thin layers on nylon-lined patios, raked hourly and gathered each night. The cup is a classic Huehuetenango: ripe red stone fruit and rooibos over deep caramel sweetness, structured and easy to keep drinking.”