Hunbatz Washed

Hunbatz takes its name from Mayan mythology - one half of a pair of brothers, Hunbatz and Hunchouén, who according to the Popol Vuh were gifted artists: flautists, singers, sculptors, painters, jewellers. Wise and skilled beyond their years, the story goes they climbed a tree so tall they couldn't climb back down, and as they struggled in the branches their loincloths became tails. Hunbatz turned into a howler monkey, and in Mayan belief went on to become a patron god of art and music.

The coffee itself comes from a collection of small producers working the northwestern highlands of Guatemala, in the Cuilco region of Huehuetenango, where most households run their own mini wet mill. Water is abundant in these mountains, and processing tends to follow a clear rhythm: the men harvest and bring cherries home, the women manage the washing. Cherries are depulped and fermented in buckets or tanks of water, then run through small channels to strip away the mucilage and honey. Drying happens on rooftops and patios, and once bagged, the coffee is stored inside the home - families sleeping alongside their harvest, effectively guarding it until it's ready to go.

These producers belong to a federation of smallholders, and this is where Hunbatz really gets its identity: it's Caribbean Goods' selection of the best lots the region has to offer. Each delivery is cupped by a Q Grader at the local warehouse, checking first for quality and defects. Anything that stands out as especially juicy, clean or interesting gets flagged up to a second Q Grader at the central office for confirmation, and those lots are what Caribbean Goods gets to choose from. Because the federation is owned by its smallholder members, it doesn't matter whose lot ends up in the bag - the value stays inside the same producer network either way.