Guatemala — Tony Medina Finca La Colina Caturra (Washed, Espresso)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Fig • 🍎 Dried Apple • 🍈 Melon

DETAILS

• Producer: Tony Medina

• Farm: Finca La Colina

• Region: Chimaltenango, Guatemala

• Varietal: Caturra

• Process: Washed

• Elevation: 1,700 masl

• Harvest: February–March 2026

• Importer: Shared Source

• Cupping Score: 85.5

• Relationship: 6th consecutive year buying Tony's coffee

INTRO
Just one quarter of Tony Medina's property is planted with coffee — the rest is native forest, protected by Tony and monitored by the government, which supports him financially to protect native flora and fauna. Fig and dried apple sweetness lead, with a melon freshness rounding out the cup. In the cup: fig, dried apple, and melon.

THE PRODUCER
Tony is a fourth-generation grower, twenty years in himself, farming 64 manzanas split evenly between Caturra and Bourbon, much of the latter currently re-growing after pruning — alongside 5,000 Gesha plants and some Pacamara planted in 2019. He's planted many native leguminous shade trees called Chalum, alongside pine and cedar, and prunes only during the full moon, when plant fluids concentrate in the lower parts and roots, making the cuts more effective at retarding growth. His soils are full of large rocks and boulders that protect against erosion, and his farm is home to native squirrels, rabbits, and snakes. The water used for processing comes from the farm and is protected, and the forest is certified by Guatemala's National Institution of Protection of Forests (INAB).

In the past, Tony sold coffee in cherry, like the vast majority of Guatemala's small producers, before starting to dry his own coffee to sell parchment at differentiated prices less than 10 years ago. He has five daughters, all of whom he's put through university thanks to selling specialty coffee. He's hoping to eventually purchase a guardiola — a mechanical dryer — for more even drying and less dependence on weather and patio space, and has given the upper part of his farm to members of the local indigenous community who work alongside him.

Chimaltenango lies between Antigua to the south and Huehuetenango to the north — notably dry for a Guatemalan growing region, but rich in natural springs and ideal microclimates.

THE PROCESS
Traditional tank fermentation takes around 36 hours, followed by traditional patio drying over eight days. To reduce water use, Tony uses a demucilager to mechanically wash the fermented coffee. An ecologically minded farmer, he fertilises with top-grade, highly efficient inputs to apply less frequently and in smaller volume, composts coffee pulp before returning it to the farm as organic fertiliser, practices manual weeding, and sprays just twice a year for leaf rust with the most non-toxic product available.

The mechanical demucilaging, paired with Tony's broader ecological approach, is the defining step here — it's what keeps the cup clean and structured, letting the fig and dried apple sweetness come through clearly.

THE CUP
Sweet and structured — fig and dried apple lead, with a melon freshness on the finish. A well-rounded, ecologically minded expression of Chimaltenango Caturra.

Flavour Notes
🍑 Fig 🍎 Dried Apple 🍈 Melon