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Guatemala — Antigua

The Antigua valley is one of Guatemala’s oldest and best-known coffee growing regions. The valley’s volcanoes and shallow water table help to create a dry micro-climate, with low humidity, lots of sun and long cool nights.

The coffee region of Antigua is an enclosed valley formed by three volcanoes — the Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. With a flat or gently sloping terrain, it is unlike the other more rugged coffee growing regions of Guatemala. Most of the coffee trees are planted on the valley floor, which is at 5,000 feet, and some farmers cultivate the slopes of the volcanoes up to 5,600 feet.

The high pumice content in Antigua’s soil (from the active Fuego volcano) keeps the relative humidity at a steady 65 % all year round, unlike other coffee regions, where humidity varies significantly between dry and rainy seasons.

So rich volcanic soil, low humidity, lots of sun and cool nights all characterize the Antigua coffee region. The volcanic pumice in the soil retains the moisture, which helps offset Antigua’s low annual rainfall – Antigua has the lowest rainfall in Guatemala’s eight coffee regions.

Like all of Guatemala’s specialty coffee, Antigua coffee is cultivated under shade. In Antigua, the shade is especially dense to protect the coffee trees from the region’s occasional frost during the chilly nights from December to February. The dense shade, combined with the region’s shallow water table, produces a distinct micro-climate within the coffee fields which all conspire to contribute to the uniqueness of the Antigua coffee.