CONCEPCIÓN BUENA VISTA NATURAL | GUATEMALA #2412

Tastes Like: Caramel Apple, Black Raspberry, Tootsie Roll

Curator’s Notes: Ever since I visited Guatemala for the first time last year (I was a jury member at the 2024 Cup of Excellence), I have had an entirely new appreciation for Guatemalan coffees – and this natural-processed red bourbon from 8th & Roast is everything I love about coffees from this origin: it’s sweet, fruity, chocolaty. At first sip, I notice a very round body, sweet like vanilla caramels, with a fruity flavor profile like one of those berry-apple juice boxes, or the warm filling of a raspberry crumble. Dense, fudgy chocolate notes emerge in the finish, with a little floral character, maybe a little raw almond, delicate, harmonious. Sean, their wholesale director, told me that this farm, Concepción Buena Vista, was their very first direct relationship – their green buyer used to live above the coffee shop in Guatemala City (12 Onzas) operated by the Solano family’s national-barista-champion son! Clearly, it was meant to be. Direct partnerships between coffee growers and roasters is really what makes the specialty world possible, and that ethos– alongside their absolutely delicious coffees, naturally– is what drew us to invite 8th & Roast into the Bean Box family. We’re proud to send their Nashville-roasted beans across the country – starting with this delightfully sweet, balanced, berries-and-chocolate Guatemalan lot. Rock on!

Bottom Line: You’ll love this coffee if you love fresh raspberry crumble, caramel apples, or classic, chocolaty Guatemalans.

The resulting cup is one of our favorites of the year, and is equal parts approachable and totally unique.