Side by side comparison
Ecuador and Guatemala
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Sensory Contrast at a Glance
Sweetness
Ecuador●●●●
Guatemala●●●●
Sparkle & Acidity
Ecuador●●●
Guatemala●●●
Body & Weight
Ecuador●●●
Guatemala●●●
Sensory Radar Overlay
- Ecuador
- Guatemala
| Metric | Ecuador | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | Sweet and medium-bodied, with stone fruit and chocolate. Some heirloom lots (Sidra) add rose, honey, and apricot. | Often chocolate-sweet with spice or apple-like brightness depending on the region. A versatile bag if you want comfort with a little lift. |
| Tasting notes | honey, apricot, rose, cocoa nib, cane sugar | cocoa, brown spice, red apple, caramel, toasted almond |
| Who grows it | Family farms and small mills in Loja and the volcanic sierra. | Estates in Antigua; smallholders and cooperatives in Huehuetenango. |
| Producers in detail | Look for a finca name in Loja or a mill that separates Sidra from Typica. Producers here often process on-site (honey beds under plastic) rather than delivering to a giant cooperative. That mill-level control is why process varies bag to bag - always read washed vs honey. | Antigua still has named fincas with mill infrastructure. Huehue is more smallholder, with lots blended at a cooperative or a private mill. Pacamara and Gesha experiments sit on both models. A bag that only says “Guatemala SHB” is a density grade; a farm or municipio name is the guide-quality cue. |
| Terroir | Andes plus equator: intense sun, cool nights, and volcanoes (Cotopaxi is the postcard). Loja in the south is drier and known for sweetness; Pichincha nearer Quito is greener. Both are high enough for floral genetics to ripen slowly. | Volcanic soils, distinct wet and dry seasons, and altitude bands that Anacafe turned into eight official regions. Antigua’s rain shadow and mineral dust taste different from Cobán’s mist. That is terroir you can shop for without speaking Spanish mill slang. |
| Process | Washed or honey - read the bag. | Often washed; honey and natural microlots exist. |
| Process in detail | Loja and Pichincha mills wash for clarity or leave mucilage for honey lots that taste like apricot nectar. Sidra and Typica Mejorada are often honey-processed because the genetics already run floral; the mucilage amplifies that without turning the cup into a natural jam. Experimental anaerobic appears on competition menus, not on every grocery bag. | Classic Guatemalan specialty is washed: ripe cherry, pulped, fermented, dried on patios or in beneficio dryers. Antigua-style lots lean chocolate and spice from volcanic dust and a rain shadow. Huehuetenango, on the Mexican border and higher, cups crisper - apple, caramel, more acidity. Cobán’s cloud forest can mute sparkle toward cocoa. |
| Brew tag | Filter | Filter or espresso |
| Bag cue | Look for Ecuador, Loja or Sidra, honeyed stone fruit. | Look for Guatemala, region name (Antigua or Huehuetenango), chocolate or apple-caramel. |
| Cafe order | An Ecuador, Loja or Sidra if you have it, light roast, black - honeyed stone fruit. | A Guatemala - Antigua if I want chocolate, Huehuetenango if you have the brighter apple-caramel one. |
| Milk | Black, Dairy | Black, Dairy |
| Species | arabica | arabica |
| Altitude (light) | High-grown valleys - about 1,200–2,000m | Strictly Hard Bean lots are denser - often 1,350–2,000m |
| Altitude (detail) | Specialty lots from Loja, Vilcabamba, and the slopes around Quito commonly sit 1,200–2,000m. Equatorial sun plus altitude gives dense seeds and a stone-fruit sweetness that is less citrus than Kenya and less jasmine than washed Yirgacheffe. | SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) means grown at 1,350m and above. Antigua farms often sit 1,500–1,700m in the valley of Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Huehuetenango lots can reach 1,700–2,000m. Density is why these beans roast evenly and why supermarket “Guatemala” can still taste structured. |
| Varieties | Sidra, Typica Mejorada, Typica (when labeled) | Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí; Pacamara on microlots |
| Harvest | Varies by slope; many highland lots are picked in the middle of the calendar year. | Main harvest roughly December–March, earlier at lower farms, later up high. |
| Brew rec | Pour-over, light roast, 1:16. Honey Sidra can handle a slightly coarser grind so florals do not turn perfume-bitter. | Filter or espresso. Medium roast keeps chocolate; lighter Huehue lots deserve a pour-over. |