Guatemala — Roberto Chéves & Ana Recinos Finca La Tormenta Villa Sarchi (Honey, Hidromiel)

Tastes Like — 🍎 Pink Lady Apple • 🍬 Cane Sugar • 🍊 Mandarin Orange • 🍇 White Grape

DETAILS

• Producers: Roberto Chéves & Ana Recinos
• Farm: Finca La Tormenta
• Region: San Agustín Acasaguastlán, El Progreso, Guatemala
• Varietal: Villa Sarchi
• Process: Honey (Hidromiel)
• Elevation: 1,800 masl
• Recognition: 1st place, honey category, Flores del Café 2026 (Anacafé); 6th place, 2025 Cup of Excellence (honey Villa Sarchi)

INTRO
Finca La Tormenta sits at 1,800 metres on the southern slopes of the Sierra de las Minas, a UNESCO biosphere reserve. In April 2026 this Villa Sarchi took first place in the honey category of Flores del Café, Anacafé's national competition. In the cup: Pink Lady apple, cane sugar, mandarin orange, and white grape.

THE PRODUCER
La Tormenta sits in San Agustín Acasaguastlán, on the southern slopes of the Sierra de las Minas, a UNESCO biosphere reserve holding the largest cloud forest in Mesoamerica. The farm borders the reserve, home to the quetzal and the jaguar, and the Chéves family farms with that forest's protection in mind. Roberto Chéves and Ana Recinos run the farm. As well as the 2026 Flores del Café win, it placed sixth at the 2025 Cup of Excellence with a honey Villa Sarchi.

Villa Sarchi is a natural mutation of Bourbon, found in northwestern Alajuela, Costa Rica, in the 1950s or 1960s. Its cup is bright and sweet, with fruit that shifts with altitude and processing. A single-gene mutation keeps the plant compact, and it usually produces its first crop in its third year. It has low resistance to leaf rust and needs well-fed soil, but it adapts well to the highest altitudes and tolerates strong wind; World Coffee Research places its best above 1,300 metres in Central America.

THE PROCESS
The process is called Hidromiel. The Honey process for this lot involves:

❄️ Cold hold — whole cherries held cold for 90 hours, with conditions set to favour lactic acid bacteria
🌱 Depulping — cherries depulped
☀️ Honey drying — parchment dries with its mucilage still on

That layer of fruit sugar is what defines the honey process. Pairing a lactic ferment with a honey drying stage is what gives the cup its profile: refined, clean, and coherent, with the mucilage adding complexity while the cup cools without overwhelming its delicate, bright character.

THE CUP
Pink Lady apple leads, crisp and bright, with cane sugar underneath from the first sip. Mandarin orange fills the middle, and white grape comes through in the finish as it cools. The body is silky and the acidity stays bright and clean.

Flavour Notes
🍎 Pink Lady Apple 🍬 Cane Sugar 🍊 Mandarin Orange 🍇 White Grape