Coffee of the Month - Scholar's Circle

Nostos

(The Journey Home)

January Coffee of the Month - Guatemala

Cupping Notes:

• Origin: Chimiche, San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango, Guatemala
• Producer: Jorge Méndez and family
• Process: Fully washed, 28-hour fermentation, 10-day patio dried
• Roast: Medium
• Flavor Profile: Aciditas Delicata, Prunus Armeniaca, Citrus Clementina, Chocolatum Lacteum (Delicate acidity, apricot, clementine, milk chocolate)
• Altitude: 1,500–1,900 MASL
• Varietals: Bourbon, Caturra

At nine years old, Jorge Méndez picked fruit on Finca El Limonar for 25 cents a day - enough for a few tortillas. His dream? To own a single coffee plant.

Forty years later, after purchasing his first lots (El Apiario and El Panal), after teaching coffee to grow where it initially refused, after years of patient experimentation, Jorge bought Finca El Limonar itself. The farm was abandoned. He and his family restored it lot by lot, rebuilding soil through organic practices until the land that once paid him pennies now bears his name.

The Romans had a phrase: labor omnia vincit - work conquers all. Jorge's story is the living proof. What was once impossible is now a family legacy, with his children managing daily operations across three farms and eight apiaries.

In your cup: a light-bodied coffee with delicate acidity, juicy mouthfeel, and notes of apricot and clementine brightening a foundation of milk chocolate. The floral aftertaste lingers like Odysseus's journey home.