Bourbon Barrel-Aged Guatemala Alma

Aromas of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, grape, and pink grapefruit precede this rich and well-balanced cup. We found notes of black cherry, chocolate, raw hazelnut, and, of course, oak and bourbon. The structure is provided by a golden raisin sweetness and the bright-toned grapefruit acidity. The finish is pleasantly sweet, hinting at grape candy and brown sugar.

This coffee roasts and ships on Mondays and Thursdays only. Available Whole Bean only. All items in your order will be held to ship with this coffee unless you request otherwise in the "Special Instructions" section of your shopping cart.

Coffee Details

Producer: Onyx Coffee Farm: Smallholders Region: Huehuetenango and Neuvo Oriente Altitude: 1,500-1,800 masl Varietal: Bourbon, Caturra Process: Washed, Aged in a select Bourbon Barrel Roast: Light Notes: Oak, Oatmeal Chocolate Cookie, Pink Grapefruit

The Story

The fine folks at Topeka Whiskey Society brought us a new select bourbon barrel to use for aging green coffee. This is our fourth collaboration with TWS, and we think it's the best one yet. The oak and whiskey notes pair well with the round-bodied Guatemala Alma, creating a balanced, sweet, and chocolatey brew. 

The Process

Our roasters Mike and Matt developed a meticulous barrel-aging process to ensure the best results:

• Green coffee is added to the empty bourbon barrel and sealed. This is done in batches of 35lbs at 11.6% moisture content.

• The barrel is agitated at least once per day for a week, aging in a 75º warehouse at 52% humidity.

• After seven days in the barrel, the coffee is removed weighing 37 pounds at 14.1% moisture content. 

• The coffee is sealed in a bag and rested to homogenize to 13.7% moisture content.

• Next, the coffee is dried prior to roasting. It spends 2 hours in the roaster at 95º-105º with full airflow, bringing the moisture content down to 12.2%. This "low and slow" approach avoids losing organic matter in the coffee and stripping out volatile compounds from the bourbon itself.

• Finally... into the roaster! At a light roast, the barrel-aged coffee is smooth and sweet with notes of dark chocolate, cherry, marzipan, and bourbon. Enjoy!

Learn more on our blog.

The Bourbon Barrel-Aged Guatemala Alma, produced by Onyx Coffee and roasted by PT's Coffee Roasting, represents a unique intersection of traditional cultivation and post-harvest innovation. Sourced from the Guatemala · Huehuetenango and Neuvo Oriente regions, this lot utilizes the Bourbon varietal, grown at elevations between 1500 and 1800 masl. While standard processing methods typically focus on removing the fruit from the seed, this coffee undergoes an additional aging stage within select bourbon barrels.

Barrel-aging is a specialized technique that allows green coffee to absorb the aromatic compounds of the wood and residual spirits, often resulting in a complex profile that bridges the gap between traditional coffee characteristics and the nuances of the aging vessel. When evaluating such distinct profiles, referencing a flavor wheel can be helpful to categorize the interplay between the inherent qualities of the Bourbon varietal and the added notes of oak, marzipan, and dark fruit.