Guatemala FREDY ORANTES from the Czech roastery Candycane Coffee is a coffee from the Fraijanes region, where the Catuaí variety transforms into an elegant and distinctly sweet experience. In the cup, you’ll find juicy papaya, sweet dried plums, and panela—unrefined cane sugar with a pleasant caramel sweetness. The fruity character is pronounced but not heavy; on the contrary, it’s complemented by a clean profile and a fuller body. The coffee scored 87.5 points (SCA), so if you enjoy sweet naturals with pronounced fruitiness, this Guatemala is definitely worth a try.
Behind this coffee is Fredy Orantes, a respected producer from the Santa Rosa region of Guatemala. His Buena Vista farm is located in the Fraijanes area at an elevation of 1,870 meters above sea level, where the high altitude creates ideal conditions for the coffee cherries to ripen more slowly and develop their sweetness. Fredy bases his work on careful cultivation, healthy soil, and an environmentally conscious approach. For this lot, he selected only perfectly ripe Catuai cherries so that their flavor potential could fully develop during further processing.
This is where the dry natural method comes into play. After harvest, the ripe cherries are first soaked and then slowly dried whole—including the pulp—on raised beds for 25 to 30 days. During drying, they are regularly turned and carefully monitored to prevent unwanted fermentation while preserving the coffee’s purity. Drying the whole cherries allows some of the sugars and aromatic compounds from the pulp to permeate the beans. The result is a cup with pronounced sweetness and fruitiness.
- Producer: Fredy Orantes
- Elevation: 1,870 m above sea level
- Harvest: 2026