Farm: Finca Pampojilá (Pampojilá Y Anexos)
Producer: Agropecuaria Atitlán — Edgar Muralles Orellana
Region: San Lucas Tolimán, Atitlán, Guatemala
Elevation: 1,550–1,740 MASL
Variety: Ruiru 11
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Award: Cup of Excellence # 7, Guatemala Cup of Excellence 2025 — 88.46 points (Exotic Natural & Honey category, 22 international judges, 5 blind cupping sessions)
Flavour profile : Passion fruit · Bergamot · Strawberry · Nectarine · Bright citrus finish
Finca Pampojilá placed #7 in the 2025 Guatemala Cup of Excellence — scored 88.46 points by a panel of 22 international judges who tasted it blind, across five separate cupping sessions. It competed against every specialty coffee Guatemala produced that year. It placed in the top ten.
Finca Pampojilá sits on the volcanic slopes surrounding Lake Atitlán in San Lucas Tolimán, Sololá — one of Guatemala's most geographically dramatic growing regions. The lake moderates temperature, the volcanic soil provides extraordinary mineral richness, and the microclimates across the slopes create conditions that reward producers who understand them. The farm is a member of the Association of Private Natural Reserves of Guatemala, with 50% of its land permanently committed to remaining as humid tropical forest.
The farm has been growing coffee on the volcanic slopes above Lake Atitlán since 1850. Founded by Manuel and Mónica Díaz, it spent over a century building a reputation for quality — winning a Gold Medal from Guatemala's National Coffee Council as far back as 1940. Then in 2010, tropical storm Agatha tore through the hillsides above San Lucas Tolimán. Landslides destroyed a significant part of the farm. The Díaz family sold. It looked, for a moment, like the end.
New owners Agropecuaria Atitlán saw something different. They rebuilt from scratch — 180 hectares replanted with better varieties, modern processing infrastructure laid down, and a commitment to environmental conservation that now keeps half the farm in its natural state as tropical rainforest. Fifteen years of work. The 2025 Cup of Excellence is what that work looks like.
The variety they chose for this lot is Ruiru 11 — and that choice alone makes this coffee unusual. Ruiru 11 is a Kenyan hybrid, developed at the Coffee Research Station in Ruiru and released in 1985. It was bred from SL-28, SL-34, Bourbon, Rume Sudan, Timor Hybrid and other lineages — originally designed for disease resistance in East Africa. Almost nobody grows it in Central America. On the volcanic soil of Atitlán, at 1,550 metres, fermented anaerobically and dried as whole cherry, it has produced something that neither Kenya nor Guatemala has produced before.
The 2025 Cup of Excellence international jury called it complete, elegant, vibrant and refined. They found orange, bergamot, strawberry, fig, pineapple, mango, nectarine and guava, over a bright citrus and malic acidity. The full auction lot — under 500 kilograms globally — sold at nearly twenty times commodity price. We roasted a small portion of that for Auro.
When it's gone, it will not exist again.
The anaerobic natural process gives this coffee a lush, almost perfumed quality that responds well to a slightly lower brew temperature ( 88–91°C) and a medium-coarse grind. Give it room to breathe. The passion fruit and bergamot notes come forward in filter; as espresso it becomes something bolder and more complex, with the fruit intensity amplified. Either way, brew it slowly and pay attention. This is a coffee worth the attention.
Farm: Finca Pampojilá (Pampojilá Y Anexos)
Producer: Agropecuaria Atitlán — Edgar Muralles Orellana
Region: San Lucas Tolimán, Atitlán, Guatemala
Elevation: 1,550–1,740 MASL
Variety: Ruiru 11
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Award: Cup of Excellence # 7, Guatemala Cup of Excellence 2025 — 88.46 points (Exotic Natural & Honey category, 22 international judges, 5 blind cupping sessions)
Flavour profile : Passion fruit · Bergamot · Strawberry · Nectarine · Bright citrus finish
Finca Pampojilá placed #7 in the 2025 Guatemala Cup of Excellence — scored 88.46 points by a panel of 22 international judges who tasted it blind, across five separate cupping sessions. It competed against every specialty coffee Guatemala produced that year. It placed in the top ten.
Finca Pampojilá sits on the volcanic slopes surrounding Lake Atitlán in San Lucas Tolimán, Sololá — one of Guatemala's most geographically dramatic growing regions. The lake moderates temperature, the volcanic soil provides extraordinary mineral richness, and the microclimates across the slopes create conditions that reward producers who understand them. The farm is a member of the Association of Private Natural Reserves of Guatemala, with 50% of its land permanently committed to remaining as humid tropical forest.
The farm has been growing coffee on the volcanic slopes above Lake Atitlán since 1850. Founded by Manuel and Mónica Díaz, it spent over a century building a reputation for quality — winning a Gold Medal from Guatemala's National Coffee Council as far back as 1940. Then in 2010, tropical storm Agatha tore through the hillsides above San Lucas Tolimán. Landslides destroyed a significant part of the farm. The Díaz family sold. It looked, for a moment, like the end.
New owners Agropecuaria Atitlán saw something different. They rebuilt from scratch — 180 hectares replanted with better varieties, modern processing infrastructure laid down, and a commitment to environmental conservation that now keeps half the farm in its natural state as tropical rainforest. Fifteen years of work. The 2025 Cup of Excellence is what that work looks like.
The variety they chose for this lot is Ruiru 11 — and that choice alone makes this coffee unusual. Ruiru 11 is a Kenyan hybrid, developed at the Coffee Research Station in Ruiru and released in 1985. It was bred from SL-28, SL-34, Bourbon, Rume Sudan, Timor Hybrid and other lineages — originally designed for disease resistance in East Africa. Almost nobody grows it in Central America. On the volcanic soil of Atitlán, at 1,550 metres, fermented anaerobically and dried as whole cherry, it has produced something that neither Kenya nor Guatemala has produced before.
The 2025 Cup of Excellence international jury called it complete, elegant, vibrant and refined. They found orange, bergamot, strawberry, fig, pineapple, mango, nectarine and guava, over a bright citrus and malic acidity. The full auction lot — under 500 kilograms globally — sold at nearly twenty times commodity price. We roasted a small portion of that for Auro.
When it's gone, it will not exist again.
The anaerobic natural process gives this coffee a lush, almost perfumed quality that responds well to a slightly lower brew temperature ( 88–91°C) and a medium-coarse grind. Give it room to breathe. The passion fruit and bergamot notes come forward in filter; as espresso it becomes something bolder and more complex, with the fruit intensity amplified. Either way, brew it slowly and pay attention. This is a coffee worth the attention.
