Santa Rita SL-28 Guatemala

Rita Graciela Cohen's family has worked this land in Fraijanes since the 1800s, when it was a cattle ranch less than 20 km outside Guatemala City. The piece that became Finca Santa Rita was passed down through inheritance, and in the 1960s and 70s its owners turned the ranch into a coffee farm.

After a few rough years, Rita and her family replanted 12 of the farm's 22 hectares between 2021 and 2023. They put in Gesha, Pacamara, SL-28, red and yellow Bourbon, Caturra and Catuaí, and spaced the rows wider than before so the trees get more light and air and the crew can work through them faster. The farm sits between 1,660 and 1,735 meters. Rain there has gotten less predictable, so they're adding drip irrigation, and upgrades to the wet mill come after that.

A small full-time crew works alongside the family through harvest and processing. Everything dries in the sun on the farm, both the washed parchment and the naturals. Pine and native shade trees cover the rest of the property, and although land this close to the capital could go to plenty of other uses, Rita has kept it in coffee so the next generation can take it over.

SL-28 is a Kenya variety, selected by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930s from a drought-tolerant plant collected in what's now Tanzania, and its rare see it planted in Central America. This one is juicy and electric, with red currant and blood orange over a panela sweetness, and it finishes silky and clean.