When I grabbed the bag I asked if anyone had tried them. The staff had, and said they were nicely surprised, not only by the size of the bean, but how good the coffee was. Another customer had commented that it was impossible to make a bad cup (without mentioning names, I know a few places that could test that claim ... you know who you are).
I took my babies home. Put them into my modified hopper (do you read coffesnobs?), didn't change a thing on the grind, and let the grinder loose. Despite their gargantuan proportions, there was no audible difference between these and my regular beans as my grinder did its thing. Resulting grind was fairly smooth, but with a few lighter coloured husky flakes, which I wasn't too worried about.
My machine likes a nice tight pack, which I did, but big beans means a big pour and the first thing I noticed was a big fat rats tail from the spout, with nice striations of colour as it dispersed. It was smooth, thick and wide, with masses of crema - so thick, it was like coffee in 3D. It's true what they said in store, it really is a rich, almost earthy, chocolatey taste with a bitter undertone. The flavour lingers for quite some time and is very easy on the palette. If it were a wine, it would be your favourite cab/shiraz, great for everyday drinking (if that's what you're into) and yet still refined enough to impress the guests or your future in-laws on the weekend.
Overall I'm giving the Guatemalan 4/5 stars. Everyone should have a strong Guatemalan in their life. I will be back for more, if there's any left.
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