Café Juan Ana: From Bean to Cup

Written by Faith Pitsikoulis 

What if your coffee did more than wake you up—what if it could uplift an entire community? Today, we’re learning about the coffee making process at Café Juan Ana! Edy Morales, Director of Coffee for the Mission, is providing us with information on the entire process. Café Juan Ana’s goal is to buy coffee from local growers at a just price so they can support their families.

Question: What are the ideal growing conditions for coffee?
Edy: The ideal conditions for coffee growing focus on the altitude, the climate and the type of soil. Our coffee beans grow at roughly 1,350 meters above sea level. The climate that we have in the Atitlán lake is unique, and we have volcanic soil from three different volcanoes. These quality factors provide the ideal conditions for a good Arabica coffee.

Question: When is the harvest season?
Edy: The harvest in San Lucas begins in December and ends in March. Local growers harvest the coffee beans approximately four times per season, because they have to wait for the beans to ripen, pick them, leave them green again [wait for more beans to mature], and pick them again.

Question: In what ways do you support sustainable coffee sourcing?
Edy: The coffee comes from 10 different communities here. It comes from places near San Lucas like Panimaquip, Pampojilá, Xejuyú, Naranjo, Agua Escondida, and San Martín. To support the planet, growers fertilize the ground. They also try to avoid chemicals. Pesticides are poisonous and they damage the environment. Once we receive the coffee from growers, we weigh it with a scale and depending on how much it weighs, we give it a value. We give the growers a document so they can collect the value that week with a check. We pay independent growers 40% to source the coffee, which is a significantly higher rate than most coffee companies.

Question: How are the coffee beans processed?
Edy: First, we de-pulp the coffee beans by removing the red husks and putting them in a pile. Then, we ferment the beans in a vat of water for 24 hours [this allows yeast and bacteria to break down the sugar]. After 24 hours, we wash the beans with water and spread them out in the courtyards to dry for 8-10 days. They dry under the sun, turning them every 20 minutes, and at night, we cover them so they don’t get rained on.

Question: What is the roasting process like?
Edy: We have three roasters, and there are three roast profiles of beans for everyone to choose from. The three roast profiles come from the three different processes. There is the washed process, the honey process, and the natural process. The roaster is a steam-powered machine. The roasting is done the same way as all the other companies. You can have a good roasting process, but if the coffee isn’t good, it won’t have a good flavor. The flavor of the coffee is determined by the beans. Also, if you roast coffee for a long time, you’re going to ruin the flavor. It should only be from 9 to 15 minutes.

Question: Do you have any brewing recommendations?
Edy: From the day coffee is picked to when the final product is packaged, the entire process takes approximately 55 days. There are several brewing methods. If you have a Chemex, or a French press, that works very well. In Guatemala, those methods are not widely available. However, for visitors, I would recommend using a Chemex or a French press for our coffee. The Chemex, with its filter, creates a lighter taste. The French Press produces a bolder profile due to its lack of a filter.

 

Edy and his crew work tirelessly to ensure their coffee is the highest quality from the moment it is grown, to the moment it’s sipped from the cup. If you would like to brew your own batch, visit the Café Juan Ana website today.