Guatemala: El Bosque

A family farm with deep roots

Finca El Bosque is a Guatemala coffee farm that has been in the Flores family for three generations. The story began in 1932, when Julian Flores planted the first 14 hectares of Bourbon on the Amatitlán hillside. After his passing in 1947, the farm was inherited by his son José Eladio Flores, who expanded the estate by another 23 hectares through the 1970s.

Following José’s death in 1996, El Bosque passed into the care of the third generation, today led by Martha Stalla and her sons Julio, José, Francisco and Mario. Together they have carried the farm’s legacy forward, investing in a wet mill built to environmental guidelines and continuing to improve quality year after year.

El Bosque today

El Bosque sits on a hillside that runs parallel to the main road to Guatemala City, not far from the beautiful Lake Amatitlán and only a few miles from the town itself. Its location so close to the capital means it faces pressure from urban expansion. However, during the time we have been working with El Bosque, coffee prices and returns have helped make the farm a top priority for the family - and they are highly motivated to protect and sustain it.

The farm employs five local workers year-round, with around twenty more joining during the harvest. Coffee cherries are taken down the road to the wet mill, where they are depulped, washed and dried before being moved to the warehouse for storage.

More than just coffee

Alongside their Bourbon, Pache, Caturra and Catuai varieties, the Flores family also cultivates avocados, lemons and roses for local consumption – a reflection of both their resourcefulness and their deep ties to the community.

This is a cup full of dark chocolate and digestive biscuit. A little edge of brown sugar runs through, and then green apple on the finish keeps it all fresh.

• Country: Guatemala
• Department: Guatemala department
• Nearest town: Amatitlán
• Anacafe region: Antigua
• Farm: El Bosque
• Producers: The Flores Family
• Farm size: 37 hectares
• Coffee growing area: 14 hectares
• Altitude: 1,400-1,645 m.a.s.l.
• Variety: Bourbon
• Processing system: Washed

Tasting notes: Dark chocolate, digestive biscuit, green apple

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean cup (1–8): 6
• Sweetness (1–8): 6.5
• Acidity (1–8): 6
• Mouthfeel (1–8): 6.5
• Flavour (1–8): 6
• Aftertaste (1–8): 6.5
• Balance (1–8): 6.5
• Overall (1–8): 6
• Correction (+36): +36
• Total: (max. 100): 86

Roasting Information
Medium-dark: Push this coffee steadily through first crack and the gap, just up to the first pops of second as its cooling, no more.