Antigua has been producing benchmark specialty coffee since the 1860s, and Finca Filadelfia - farmed by the same family across six generations - is one of the region's most established estates. Grown at 1,600 metres in volcanic soil and processed using the washed method, this Caturra from Dear Green is clean, balanced, and carries a strong sense of place.
Structured, volcanic, and quietly composed
Finca Filadelfia sits in Antigua, one of Guatemala's most storied coffee regions, surrounded by three volcanoes - Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego - whose volcanic soils and stable climate have been shaping coffee here since the 1860s. The farm has been in the Dalton family for five generations, now into its sixth, and spans over 214 hectares of shade-grown Caturra, grown slowly under grevillea trees at 1,600 metres. That combination of altitude, volcanic soil, and careful shade growing tends to produce coffees that are balanced and layered, and the washed process keeps everything clean and well-defined in the cup.
Dear Green's Q Grader will have put this through its paces before it made the list, which is reassuring. It's the kind of coffee that rewards a little attention - a filter brew will show off its clarity nicely - but it's also easy enough to enjoy without overthinking it. If you like your coffee structured, clean, and with a strong sense of place, this is a good one to sit with.
About the Roaster
Dear Green was founded by Lisa Lawson in Glasgow in 2011 - one woman, one roaster, and a clear sense of what specialty coffee could be in Scotland. Fourteen years on, they're a B Corp-certified roastery with a full team, a training space, and sourcing built on direct relationships and transparency. There's also a Q Grader in house, which means every coffee on the list has been properly scrutinised before it gets anywhere near you.
