Guatemala La Libertad Rancho Viejo

"Rancho Viejo" is the name of a coffee plot on the well known La Bolsa farm, located in the town of La Libertad, Huehuetenango. It's one of a few plots of coffee that sprung up around the original farm  started by Dr. Jorge Vides. He bought this original piece of land back in the mid-1950's, planting the in Bourbon and Caturra, the cultivars that were available at that time. He's since handed the reigns over to his daughter, Maria Elena Vides, who now manages the day to day, along with the help of her family. Finca La Bolsa is mostly planted in Bourbon and Caturra, with Maragogype, the large-sized coffee bean, that is harvested separately. They typically let the harvested cherries "rest" for 1.5-2 days before pulping, which can impact things like body and flavor. They then pulp the cherries into fermentation tanks to break down the sticky fruit mucilage for around 15 hours. The coffee is then dried on patios for upwards of two weeks. We found this lot brewed a classic, well balanced wet process profile. It shows subtle fruits in the lighter roasts, but balanced sweetness and roast toned bittering were the more prominent features.