Decaf SWP Guatemala

For those of you who are concerned about the use of chemicals in the decaf process, Swiss Water Process Guatemala is worth your consideration. Although all decaf beans are dark looking and hard to roast, Swiss Water beans are lighter than Mountain Water, and so a little easier to have a visual aid while roasting. Chocolate undertones are the real selling point on this one, but in lighter roasts you can coax out peach and slight fruity notes. It is from the Primavera farm in Huehuetenango -- a farm that takes a scientific approach to long term sustainability and organic practices.

Although I appreciate that you can roast this one on the light side of medium, I've been roasting it on the dark side of medium, just barely into the second cracks. If you go darker than that, you start picking up more bitterness, although with a splash of cream that bitter-baker's chocolate taste can work well. It also lends itself very well to blending. It can make a really nice half-caf blend when you pair it with a sweet light roast or a dark Indonesian.