The smell of rain is distinct. We all know that heavy sweet fragrance that sets in just before the skies open up and it begins to pour. There is something rather beautiful and mysterious within that deep-set recognition we all carry towards an oncoming thunderstorm. When we got San Lorenzo X into our warehouse I could almost smell the rain swept mountains it was harvested from.
Landscape & Process
There is something romantic about rainfall in the mountains. There is also something considerably less romantic about trying to dry coffee when a micro-climate like the one found in Alta Verapaz. In this Guatemalan region, the high humidity and the consistent rainfall moves through the highlands around San Cristóbal, Cobán, feeding the coffee plants and shaping the condition in which they grow. At Finca San Lorenzo, that rain is both a gift and a challenge.
Wicho and his family have spent generations growing coffee at Finca San Lorenzo in San Cristobal, Coban, Guatemala. The farm itself is nestled between 1,400 to 1,500 meters above sea level, in a region known for its high humidity and significant rainfall.
For Luis “Wicho” Valdés III and his family, working with coffee means working with that reality. You can't ask the rain to stop or to take a break but you can learn from it instead. You learn to adapt; when to wait, and how to make the conditions work for you, you collaborate.
In case of sudden rainfall, Wicho and his family have developed ways to quickly sweep up the coffee that would be drying on the patio into 5-foot boxes that are on wheels. They have also created elaborate structures, something like large greenhouses, with shelving in them to help keep the wet coffee in a safe environment for safe drying. These green houses have flaps on the side to either enclose or allow more airflow depending on the demand of the coffee. Last, something we had not seen, if the coffee is still of a certain moisture percentage, they will insert the green coffee back into a tank submerged underwater. This is something that seems counterintuitive but has proven to be a successful method for them to counteract the weather and still produce exceptional specialty grade coffee.
That kind of collaboration is what makes San Lorenzo X so special.
Rain is essential to grow coffee. Too much of it though can make nearly every part of the process more difficult. Yet challenging does not equal impossible. Wicho and his family have learned to work within these conditions and it is thanks to the generations of experience that we get to serve this fantastic coffee to our community.
Adapting to What Coffee Needs
That adaptability is what makes the coffee supply chain so exciting and it ripples out to the rest of us. As roasters, we're constantly asking our own version of the same question: how do we make this work? Not just work but shine.
A coffee arrives at the roastery with its own history, chemistry, and potential, and it's our job to find the roast that lets it show up at its best. We have bought two coffees this year from San Lorenzo. The X profile was honed by our exporting partners Los Vulcanes. The ‘X’ profile was quite distinct from the other profiles we cupped and is a blend of Caturra, Catuai, Bourbon, Sacchimor, Obatã, and Tupi. In the cup, we're finding bright yuzu, bergamot, and a winey character: floral and light with a tea-like body, and a rich tannin note at the finish that gives it an earthy, almost red-wine depth.
That same process (history, chemistry, potential) plays out every day in our roastery and also behind the bar.
Houston Coffee Built By Collaboration
It is that drive and passion that feels familiar to us at Tenfold Coffee Company. Houston’s coffee community has grown tremendously and it is due to the willingness of others to show up, experiment, compete, collaborate, fail, try again, and above all else: keep learning.
You can see it with every new cafe, every barista dialing in their espresso, the collaborations with other businesses and events, and yes, in the occasional barista throwdowns where some of our own staff might be found ripping a few extraordinary lattes with some beautiful latte art.
But that's the thing. Nobody starts out knowing exactly how to do everything. A good cup of coffee is built through curiosity, experimentation, collaboration, and a willingness to keep growing. That's true on a farm in the rainy highlands of Guatemala and it is true in a Houston roastery. And it is true for the ever growing community of people here who care deeply about coffee and are figuring out together what Houston coffee can become.
San Lorenzo X reminds us that there can be real beauty in that process.
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