Finca Villaure

This washed coffee comes from Aurelio Villatoro's farm located at 1700 masl on steep mountain slopes. His village, Hoja Blanca, sits right on the edge of Cuilco in western Huehuetenango, close enough to the border that Mexico is only about a kilometre away. The slopes here are steep, dotted with award-winning lots, most of them his family's.

Aurelio grew up around coffee. He trained as a mechanic after school, then went back to his father's farm to carry on the trade, and in 1986 started his own plot, Villaure, named after bits of his first and last names. It was small to begin with, but he worked at it, got more out of the land and bought a bit more when he could. The awards started coming in 2002 and haven't really stopped since.

That attention to detail shows in the cup. Picking runs December to March, with only properly ripe cherries making the cut. They're pulped within six hours, fermented in concrete tanks for 24 to 36 hours, then washed, sorted and dried slowly on cement patios, each grade kept apart. It's careful work, and you can taste it.

Tasting notes include green apple, plum and cocoa.