Which coffee varieties grow around Lake Atitlán?

Bourbon

Bourbon is a tall Arabica. Anacafé treats it as a traditional cup-quality variety, and it is on lots all around the lake.

La Voz que Clama en el Desierto, in San Juan La Laguna, entered Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuaí in the 2025 Traditional Atitlán competition.

Típica

Típica is the older tall Arabica. Importer sheets for La Voz list it with Bourbon and Caturra.

San Isidro Chacaya, between Volcán San Pedro and the lake, describes large Típica plantings and an elevation of about 1,555–2,100 meters.

Caturra

Caturra is a compact mutation of Bourbon. Anacafé groups it with Catuaí and Bourbon as the varieties that dominate Guatemala.

It is the variety named most steadily on Atitlán competition lots, including farms in San Juan La Laguna, San Pedro La Laguna, Santiago Atitlán, and San Lucas Tolimán.

Catuaí

Catuaí is a cross of Caturra and Mundo Novo. The fruit holds on the branch in rain, which matters in a wet highland harvest.

A regional profile of Traditional Atitlán names Bourbon, Caturra, and Catuaí. Mundo Novo, the other parent, is a Típica and Bourbon cross from Brazil. Atitlán sheets name the child more often than the parent.

Pache

Pache is a compact mutation of Típica found in Guatemala. The tree ends in a flat top. Anacafé says most Pache was planted in the east, and Atitlán lots still include it.

In the 2025 Traditional Atitlán competition, Vista al Lago in San Antonio Palopó listed Bourbon, Pache, Caturra, and Catuaí. Tinamit Tolimán lots have listed Pache as well.

Pache Colis is a smaller selection from the same line. This page does not have an Atitlán lot that names it.

Pacamara and Maragogipe

Pacamara is a cross of Pacas and Maragogipe made in El Salvador. The leaves and fruit are large. San Isidro Chacaya lists Pacamara among its Atitlán plantings.

Maragogipe is the large-bean parent. Maracaturra is a related cross of Maragogipe and Caturra, from Nicaragua. Anacafé describes both large-bean crosses as good in the cup and better suited to about 3,000–4,500 feet, which is lower than the upper volcano slopes.

Anacafé 14, Catimor, and Sarchimor

Anacafé 14, Catimor, and Sarchimor are rust-resistant lines. Anacafé accepts Catimores and Sarchimores in the Traditional Atitlán category beside Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí, Pache, and Típica.

Tinamit Tolimán lots have included Anacafé 14 with Bourbon, Caturra, and Pache. San José del Lago, in Santiago Atitlán, has listed Catimor. Anacafé recommends the resistant varieties more for lower and middle ground, and the traditional varieties where the elevation is already high.

Geisha

Geisha is grown around Lake Atitlán in small plantings. It is not the bulk of the region’s coffee. Ceiba can ask about a lot. This site does not sell one.

It is an Ethiopian variety, low-yielding, and floral when the picking is careful. San Isidro Chacaya lists it. In Anacafé’s 2025 competition, Chicua in Santiago Atitlán entered Geisha, and Pampojila in San Lucas Tolimán entered Geisha and Java.

A roaster description of AproCafé Atitlán says the association planted a small Geisha plot just outside San Juan La Laguna, around 1,600–1,700 meters, and that members have planted more higher up. That is a few bags, not the crop of the town.

Java

Java is an Ethiopian-line variety associated with Indonesia and now planted in Central America. Atitlán sheets name it beside Geisha at Pampojila and at San Isidro Chacaya.

SL28 and SL34

SL28 and SL34 are Kenyan selections, known for blackcurrant and a bright cup. SL28 is on the variety list at San Isidro Chacaya, in the Atitlán region.

A public Atitlán lot that names SL34 did not turn up in this check. Ceiba can still ask a grower about either one. Asking is not the same as having the coffee in stock.