eat your chow.

More of What I Ate in Guatemala

Marco Polo ice cream, lemon sherbet with lime zest

Zucchini and parmesan salad, black bean and queso soup, tacos

Coffee Tasting at Finca Filadelfia, Guatemala

Guatemala is the seventh largest coffee producer in the world, and I got to visit one of its oldest plantations, Finca Filadelfia, where R. Dalton Coffee is cultivated. Since caffeine has such an effect on me, I don’t drink coffee, but of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try this award-winning brew. 

The dos leches did not disappoint.

I also attended a coffee tasting lesson, very much like a wine tasting class. I smelled and sipped a number of varieties, tasting for acidity and flavor. I also learned how coffee is produced, from bean to blend. Guatemala’s high altitudes are great for coffee growing, and the product has a milder taste than most. Such a cool experience, although I was getting buzzed from the sniffing alone!

Eat Like a Guatemalan: Pepian Recipe

Pepian is a traditional Guatemalan meat stew, prepared with beef, pork, or chicken (or a mixture of the three). Every Guatemalan makes it a little differently—richer, spicer, thicker, meatier. It is typically served with an array of chilies (as is everything in this country), rice, and a corn tamale.

I had two versions of Pepian in Guatemala, the first at Antigua’s Fonda en la Calle Real (above), and the other from chef Armando Caceres at Finca Filadelfia’s Pergaminos Restaurante (below).

If you’d like to make Pepian at home, click through for a recipe from Guatemalan celebrity chef Mirciny Moliviatis.

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In Guatemala, I spy something orange

Grilled chicken with fries and steamed veggies, flan in blood orange sauce, papaya-pineapple marmalade, carrot-plantain cornbread cake