Bella Vista Mill - Luis Pedro Zalaya Zamora - Washed Field Blend - Guatemala

Whole Bean
Roast: Medium
Recommended Rest: 2-3 weeks from roast date
Tasting Notes: almond butter, milk chocolate, persimmon

Origin Details

Region: Antigua Valley, Sacatepequez, Guatemala
Elevation: 1500-1650masl
Producer: Luis Pedro Zalaya Zamora, Bella Vista Mill
Process: Washed
Variety: Bourbon, Dwarf Bourbon, Red Caturra, Yellow Caturra, Catimor Hybrids

ABOUT THIS COFFEE AND PRODUCER

This coffee encompasses lots from 18 different farms that span the Antigua Valley. Luis Pedro Zalaya Zamora and his team and Bella Vista Wet Mill personally manage all of these farms, ensuring that each one maintains a high standard of quality. Originally an employee at Bella Vista Wet Mill, Luis Pedro Zalaya has over 20 years of coffee producing experience that he now uses to manage multiple teams that oversee hundreds of farms in Guatemala. This particular lot is named Bella Carmona, an homage to the Zalaya family’s Hacienda Carmona. Cherry is delivered daily at Bella Vista from all over the valley. Processing is separated into numerous channels that represent Bella Carmona farms, Hunapú farms, and microlots such as single estates, single smallholders, or growers from elsewhere in Guatemala that Bella Vista represents. Once inspected and weighed, cherry is depulped and fermented overnight in one of the mill’s many tanks, washed clean the next day, and patio-dried.   Each individual batch of cherry is tracked electronically using a software created by Bella Vista, and drying or finished parchment is tagged with a QR code that allows the team to scan and review the exact blend in each batch, by contributing farm or farmer, variety, and location. This traceability follows each lot to the cupping table, where the Bella Vista team approves individual day lots for blending and shipment.

WHY WE SELECTED THIS COFFEE

We're excited to introduce our first coffee from Bella Vista Mill in Guatemala. This lot comes from a field blend grown in well maintained soils, producing a classic Guatemalan profile with plenty of sweetness and balance.

The washed process pairs especially well with our medium roast profile, bringing out a rich almond butter character alongside distinctly milky chocolate. The cup has a soft, rounded texture that carries the chocolate and nuttiness throughout without feeling heavy.

As it cools, a gentle persimmon-like fruit note begins to emerge in the background, adding just enough complexity to keep the profile interesting while letting the chocolate and almond remain at the center.

This will be our stable espresso in the shop and a coffee we're happy to have as an everyday option. It's balanced, sweetness-forward, and designed to work equally well as espresso, a milk drink, or brewed coffee.