| Elevation / style | 1,500–2,000 m |
|---|---|
| Cultivar | Bourbon, Caturra and others |
| Common processing | Mostly washed |
| Flavor tendencies | Cocoa, baking spice, orange, structured body |
| Suggested brewer | Filter pour-over |
| Starting ratio | 1:16.1 |
| Water temperature | 92–94°C |
| Grind | Medium |
What “Antigua” identifies
Antigua is a well-known coffee-growing area in Guatemala, but a regional label does not establish a farm, varietal composition, roast level or independent certification. Individual lots can differ sharply in sweetness, acidity, body and roast development. Volcanic-soil language is common in marketing; soil type alone cannot tell you what the finished beverage will taste like.
Washed processing is a useful starting assumption only when the seller confirms it. If a bag names its farm, cultivar, processing method and harvest, you can interpret its flavor claims with more context. “Cocoa,” “nuts” and “orange” are sensory comparisons. They are not necessarily additives, and dark roasting can conceal notes evident in lighter examples.
Filter method for a round, readable cup
Start with 18 g coffee to 290 g water, medium grind and water around 92°C for a medium roast. Wet with about 50 g, wait 35 seconds and complete the pour steadily. Use a paper filter if you want a cleaner comparison between lots; use a French press if body is your main priority, but do not compare the two cups as though only origin changed.
- Taste the first cup after it cools slightly: distinguish sweetness from simply having a heavy texture.
- For an overly dark or smoky finish, try a little cooler water or a coarser grind, while recognizing that roast cannot be undone.
- For a weak cup with pleasant balance, adjust the ratio from 1:16 to roughly 1:15.5 and repeat.
- For sharpness without sweetness, grind a step finer before raising dose.
Simple comparison: brew two otherwise identical cups through paper and a metal-filter immersion brewer. Write down sediment, mouthfeel and flavor separately. Filter material and extraction are confounding variables, so this tests brew presentation—not the inherent superiority of a region.
Practical label checklist
Prioritize roast date, farm/cooperative identification and process over sweeping “volcanic” claims. Ask whether the coffee is from one producer or blended within the region. If the bag specifies Bourbon or Caturra, confirm what those cultivar names mean using the World Coffee Research Arabica catalog; they describe plants, not an automatic tasting score.
A roaster's espresso recipe can be more useful than the filter recipe above for a medium-dark Antigua. Change grind to reach your preferred shot balance while measuring both the dry dose and espresso beverage mass.
Limits and related guides
Our numeric starting point is an illustrative recipe rather than a test result for every Antigua lot. Consult the water guide if your recipe changes unpredictably when you switch water supplies.