Finca El Durazno – A Young Farm with a Deep Coffee Legacy

Finca El Durazno, which means “Peach Farm,” sits in the beautiful Jalapa region of Guatemala. While Antigua often takes the spotlight, Jalapa quietly produces some of the country’s most distinctive coffees. Because it sits on a volcanic complex, the mineral-rich soils and mountain air create vibrant and expressive cup profiles.

The farm belongs to the Ventura family, led by siblings Rafael and Maria Elena. They represent the fifth generation of coffee producers. Their family began in coffee in 1894 at the nearby Finca Rabanales.

Despite this long heritage, El Durazno remains a young farm. When the Ventura family purchased the land in 2012, it had no coffee trees and was mostly used for forestry.

Between 2013 and 2014, they planted the first coffee trees. The farm harvested its first meaningful crop around 2018. Today, El Durazno marks the next chapter in the Ventura family’s coffee journey.

A Farm Designed for Innovation

Because the farm is young yet backed by generations of experience, the Venturas use El Durazno as a place to experiment.

While their older farms focus on traditional washed coffees, El Durazno acts as an innovation lab. Here, they test modern fermentation methods and unique processing styles.

One experiment is the Natural Anaerobic process used for this coffee. As a result, the cup becomes far more expressive than a classic Guatemalan coffee. Instead of traditional nutty notes, it bursts with fruit character and vibrant sweetness.

The Natural Anaerobic Process

The coffee undergoes natural anaerobic fermentation. Fresh cherries go into sealed, oxygen-free tanks. This slows fermentation and encourages the development of complex lactic acids.

Meanwhile, the sugars in the cherries break down slowly, deepening the flavour. Bright strawberry notes transform into cooked strawberry or jam-like sweetness. Consequently, the coffee often tastes boozy, wine-like, or like a true fruit bomb.

The result is a lush, expressive cup full of character.

A Blend of Three Varieties

This coffee is a field blend of three varieties, each adding something unique to the cup:

• Caturra and Bourbon provide the foundation, delivering sweetness, balance, and refined structure.

• Catimor adds complexity. Known for its resilience and disease resistance, it contributes subtle spice or herbal notes at high altitude with anaerobic processing. This keeps the cup from becoming overly sweet.

Together, these varieties create a layered and memorable coffee experience.

High Altitude Terroir

The coffee grows at 1600 to 1850 metres above sea level, where cherries mature slowly in the cool mountain air. As a result, the beans become dense and packed with flavour.

Dense beans roast beautifully. They tolerate higher temperatures, which helps unlock deep berry notes like blackberry, alongside bright citrus highlights such as lime.

Ultimately, this coffee is vibrant, complex, and unmistakably Guatemalan.