Behind the Cup: Sunshine Eruption - Guatemala
Not every eruption has to be violent. This one just melts out slow — citrus lava, rock melon, and a honeyed glow, nothing you need a hard hat for.
On Leash — Safe to Guzzle Daily
THE CUP
Soft, mellow citrus up front — lemony, with a lift of lemon myrtle — over rock melon and a honeyed sweetness that lingers gently, rounded out by a touch of blossom and hazelnut as it cools. It holds its shape across brew methods: pull it as espresso for more intensity and rock melon nectar, or let filter show off the citrus in full mellow form.
BEHIND THE BEANS
Santa Isabel Estate has been in the Valdés family since 1875, a fifth-generation farm in San Cristobal Verapaz, in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz department. It's run today by Luis "Wicho" Valdés, who studied agriculture before returning home in 1998 to work alongside his father, Luis Sr. Of its 300 hectares, 200 are planted to coffee — mostly Caturra — between 1,400 and 1,600 metres, shaded by native inga trees and bordered by an 88-hectare natural forest reserve Wicho has kept intact. He runs his own on-farm lab producing organic microorganisms for disease resistance, and has phased out pesticides and cut fungicide use significantly. Cherries are picked across more than a dozen selective passes each season, sorted by density, pulped the same day, fermented up to 17 hours, washed, then soaked a further 24 hours before a slow two-stage drying — sun first, then finished under greenhouse cover on raised beds.
HOW TO DRINK IT
rew it on filter to let that soft citrus and rock melon stretch out. Pull it as espresso, or over milk as a flat white, for a deeper, more honeyed version of the same cup — all three hold together.
THE SPECS
Personality: Off Leash
We taste: Lemon Myrtle • Rock Melon • Honey
Origin: Santa Isabel Estate, San Cristobal Verapaz, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Altitude: 1,400–1,600 MASL
Producer: Luis "Wicho" Valdés (with Luis Valdés Sr.)
Variety: Caturra
Process: Washed
Roasted For: Espresso or Filter
Imported by: Melbourne Coffee Merchants
Fifth-generation farm, one very mellow eruption. Grab a bag of Sunshine Eruption →
