Roasters notes: It was June of 2022 when I first tasted coffee from ASOKAPE, sourced and imported by Yellow Rooster, at Coffee Fest in Chicago. It immediately jumped out to me as something unique, and I bought some nearly on the spot to have on the menu here at High Bank. The more I learned about ASOKAPE, the more I loved their story.
One of my goals this year with High Bank was to focus on an intentional menu. A menu where I featured coffees I believed in, and had a relationship with. In April I messaged Joel at Yellow Rooster, “I found some super cheap flights to Guatemala, I’m headed there in two weeks” to which he replied “I’ll come with.”
And so, Joel and I made the 5 hour journey from Guatemala City to Chiquixji, a small municipality about an hour outside of Cobán. We visited with a few different farmers that contribute their cherries to ASOKAPE, and talked about challenges such as a lack of rain and very cold nights during the growing season this year, but also improvements to their farms to prevent erosion and increase shade.
More members had joined this year, new processes were being experimented with, and the excitement for the future was palpable among those we talked to. I’m super excited to continue to feature their coffees here, and I purchased everything they had available for export this year, including their first foray into natural processing.
This washed coffee is very similar to last years harvest – juicy cherry plums, orange, dark chocolate, and hazelnut. It’s a beautiful coffee on espresso, and a very chuggable coffee as a filter brew. When you drink this coffee, take a moment to reflect on all of the hands that brought it to you, and the passion behind them.
