Guatemala Coban Chichupak Coop

The Chichupak cooperative is located in a village of the same name, taking its name from a plant native to the region that is used to make soap ("Chupak" means "soap"). This area of Baja Verapaz is home to an indigenous community of subsistance farmers, coffee being the primary crop. This tight knit group of farmers formed an a cooperative alliance in the early 1980's, banding together resources to build a communal coffee processing site, complete with wet mill, fermentation tanks, raised drying beds and patio space. Chichupak is almost smack dab in the middle of Guatemala, not a region we've bought from historically. The climate and altitude are favorable to growing coffee, the latter spanning a range of 1600 to 2000 meters above sea level. We found this lot from Chichupak to have impressive balance at a wide range of roasts, along with fruited accents, and moderate fruited brightness. Not only is it versatile in roast application, but it excelled as both brewed coffee and espresso too. We haven't visited the coop, and the photos in this review are from various other trips to Guatemalan coffee farms.