Kuma Coffee Bella Carmona Guatemala: A stand out that stands up

The Drink: Kuma Coffee Bella Carmona Guatemala
Type: Whole Bean Light to Medium Roast, from the Antigua Region (Single Origin)
Overall Rating: 3.5 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

Roasters distinguish themselves first and foremost with their coffee, but how do they build customer loyalty? It’s bound to happen: You try a new roaster and get a killer Costa Rican, have a few more great coffees, and then you get one that is a little off for one reason or another. Do you give them another chance or move on to one of the many other coffee companies out there?

Learning about a company can help me to either establish a connection… or not. If the connection solidifies I’m more likely to give a roaster another chance. If the connection is strong I’ll stay loyal through a lot.

Roasters’ claims of sustainable and ethical business practices begin to look the same after a while. But when I looked into Kuma Coffee, I found that the company does refreshingly little tooting of their own horn. The simple brown bags into which they pack their beans remind me of the brown bag lunches I carried to school in fifth grade that ask you to imagine what manner of goodness waits inside.

Kuma Coffee’s coffee names often take you closer to the people that produced the beans. In this case, Bella Carmona is the name of the wet processing plant run by the Zelaya family, from whom Kuma Coffee purchases this coffee.

As for the coffee, the Bella Carmona Guatemala beans gave off a nice sweet smell upon opening the bag. There was the syrupy aroma of browning sugar with subtle hints of molasses.

As the cup I poured from my french press cooled, I detected the smell of cinnamon in the background.
This coffee was towards the lighter side on the tongue and smooth and mellow.

The brightness the Bella Carmona exhibited was very complementary to the sweet sensations. I’m always looking for that balance of brightness to flavor, hoping not to have the tingle lead and overpower. It really worked well here and the sweet tastes were able to come through.

Overall, this selection from Kuma offered up a very enjoyable experience—rich and well balanced. I have seen Kuma Coffee on more than one list of roasters to watch over the past six months. Between the Tano Batak Sumatra and the Bella Carmona Guatemala, Kuma Coffee has become a standout among roasters for me and I’ll be keeping an eye out for more good coffee.

Kuma Coffee’s Bella Carmona Guatemala earned a 3.5 out of 5 on the Daily Shot of Coffee scale.

Bella Carmona Guatemala is not currently available, check out Kuma Coffee’s website for other good coffee. The average price is $15.00 for a 12 oz. bag.

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