La Pila de Guatemala
La Pila a honey process coffee from Guatemala roasted by The Underdog.
Try different baristas, different coffee shops.
Stokes at The Lawn, as always I let Mike choose brewing method, I chose cappuccino and V60, Mike decided on French press.
My reason for trying a cappuccino, La Pila had been roasted to suit espresso,
At first I thought cafetiere, but as cooled easily the V60. The cappuccino not so good.
Beautiful colour the V60. Taste of fruits and wine.
All agreed, Nick, Mike and myself, excellent coffee.
Almost a month on, retry La Pila at Stokes at The Lawn. Usually I let Mike choose, today, as roasted for espresso, I chose, cappuccino and V60. Mike chose a flat white.
The classic cappuccino, rarely achieved, smooth and creamy. Not so, but nevertheless interesting fruity notes making the cappuccino an interesting drink. I was very much reminded of cappuccino at Makushi with their own light roast.
The V60 a disappointment, OK hot but not good as it cooled.
Mike said his flat white excellent.
Next, a few days later, The Specialty Coffee Shop. Again I chose, a cappuccino.
Not the classic smooth creamy, nevertheless interesting with fruity notes.
What was now left of the bag of coffee beans I gave as a gift to Michelangelo.
Special thanks to Mike barista at Stokes at The Lawn and Mohammad barista at The Speciality Coffee Shop.
The Underdog on La Pila:
Rodolfo and Reina are the proud owners of the La Pila farm. Rodolfo has basically been in coffee for his whole life. When he was young, he used to work on farms as a coffee picker to earn money. And when he was 25 years old, he inherited a plot of land from his father, so that he could start his own farm business.
Little by little he managed to make steps ahead, increase the volume of his coffee, and invest in another plot of land. He names his farm ‘La Pila’, which is a tank for water in this context, as he found a small water source on his farm. He made a small cement tank and decided to use this as a reference for his farm. Water is very scarce and precious in this region.
Rodolfo is very eager to improve the practices on his farm, to keep learning and innovating. He’d like to have a soil analysis done at his farm, so to optimize the root and foliar systems of his plants with adequate nutrition. He also plans to keep investing in the processing area. He came up with a genius system to depulp the coffee with a bicycle! Since 2017 we are working with him on honey and natural processing and are thrilled by the results.
La Pila single origin honey process, location Santa Ana la Montaña, Fraijanes, farmer Rodolfo Garcia, var yellow catuai, altitude 1750m, taste notes molasses, maple syrup, blackcurrant, roasted at The Underdog.
