Las Macadamias
Heady florals and complex stone fruit in this lot by the Aguirre Family, from this year's Cup of Excellence auction
Coffee Expression A small picking of natural Geisha, this lot unveils a wildly complex and characterful profile, with heady floral aromas of rose, violet and jasmine, followed by a rich and ripe cup with notes of apricot, lychee and hibiscus.
Producer Las Macadamias is a small experimental plot on the iconic El Injerto farm; run by the Aguirre family in the Huehuetenango region for over 150 years. This lot was selected for a Presidential Award at this year’s Guatemala Cup of Excellence, with a score of 91.04. Our Head of Coffee, John, was on the panel of international judges at this year’s competition. We purchased this lot together with our friends in Korea, Momos Coffee.
Brewing Advice
The Aguirre Family
The Aguirre family, and their iconic project Finca El Injerto, need almost no introduction in the world of coffee. They are the single most successful producer in the history of the Cup of Excellence, having won the competition overall 10 times, including with this very lot in the 2025 iteration.
Finca El Injerto
El Injerto is a 750-hectare farm located in the mountainous region of Huehuetenango, where we buy much of our Guatemalan coffee. Very large by Guatemalan standards, the Aguirre family have been the stewards of this land since 1874, when the land was acquired by Jesús Aguirre Panamá. Initially planted with sugarcane, corn, beans and tobacco, coffee began to be planted around the turn of the twentieth century, and has become a bigger part of the Aguirre family’s work since then. The farm is now run by the third and fourth generation, Arturo Sr. and Arturo Jr.. It was Arturo Sr.’s vision to focus on quality, becoming one of the pioneers of speciality coffee in Guatemala. They have competed in the Cup of Excellence since the start, winning their first award 20 years ago, in 2006.
The story continues
This innovation continues today. The Aguirre family have refused to sit on their laurels, comfortable with their success. Arturo Jr. has overseen a push for greater sustainability on the farm; El Injerto was the first farm in Guatemala to receive a carbon neutral certification in 2017, and since 2019, the farm has run almost exclusively on solar energy. The push for quality also continues, and this small lot is an excellent example.
10 years ago, the El Injerto team specified a small 12 hectare plot high on the farm, and separated it from the wider farm. This plot was named Las Macadamias for the shade trees that dominated there, and its cool and quiet location was deemed perfect for experimentation. It is here at Las Macadamias that trials take place before new techniques are trialled before they are used on the wider farm; pruning, fertilisers, weed control and even new varietals.
#1 CoE Natural Geisha
This experimental plot doesn’t always produce the best coffee on the farm, but the wide variation of techniques, varietals and processes used here leads to a myriad of small nano-lots with a huge variation in profile. It was here that this year’s entry to the ‘Exotic Natural’ category of the Cup of Excellence was found.
A small picking of natural Geisha, this lot unveils a wildly complex and characterful profile, with heady floral aromas of rose, violet and jasmine, followed by a rich and ripe cup with notes of apricot, lychee and hibiscus.
