Guatemala Coffee, Coffee for the Holidays

It's the end of the year.  Whether it's the sadness of the end of the year or the excitement of the new year, the end of the year seems to be a season where sadness and excitement blur together in a strange harmony. What kind of coffee goes with this season of sadness and excitement?

 

Guatemalan coffee is one of those coffees that has a very distinct identity.  It has a distinct aroma that introduces itself from the time you grind the coffee, and when you take a sip, you can't help but say, "Ah, Guatemala.  The main characteristic of Guatemalan coffee is usually described as smokiness.   Some say it's the medium or dark roasted beans that give Guatemalan coffees their characteristic smokiness, but for me, it's the sweet acidity and a hint of spice on top of the richness of dark chocolate. 

 

There is a weight to Guatemalan coffee.   It's like a lead belt that acts as a counterweight to the buoyancy that pushes divers to the surface.  Without weight, we can't see the tranquility of the water, we can't see the boredom of the calm waves, we can't feel the life in the water.  You must go beneath the surface to feel the other world at work within it.  A cup of Guatemalan coffee gives us the weight to sink below the surface.

 

That weight comes from the body of Guatemalan coffee, but it also comes from the bitter-sweetness of the rich dark chocolate in its flavor and aroma.  In the Eastern Asian worldview, when an emotion is too excited, pleased, or surprised, bitterness can neutralize that excitement.   Perhaps it's the weight that bitterness carries. 

 

We are so close to 2022.   If you want to feel the weight that can sink below the surface of the world you live in when excitement arises, even for a moment, I encourage you to try a cup of Guatemalan coffee. In that cup, we may be able to see the truth beneath the surface: that God is not on our side, but on the side of those in front of us, and that the temple where God dwells is not us, but those in front of us.