July 2026: Podium Platinum. Kissing Rock Coffee
Country: Guatemala
Varietals: Bourbon & Caturra
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1,300-1,500 MASL
Tasting Notes: Caramel, vanilla, toasted pecan.
Your coffee:
High in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz department, north of Cobán, lies one of the country's most remote coffee regions — and the source of this month's coffee. Here, indigenous Kekchà communities have grown coffee for generations on small family farms averaging just three acres, at altitudes up to 4,920 feet.
Because the terrain is so isolated, producers have organized into cooperatives, each running its own micro-mill so farmers can personally oversee cherry selection, depulping, fermenting, and drying. From there, the parchment coffee travels rough roads across the country to Guatemala City for export.
It's exactly the kind of story Kissing Rock Coffee looks for. As farmers themselves, Andrew and Christine Houghtaling roast this coffee on a fluid bed of air, protecting everything those Cobán cooperatives worked to preserve.
The result: a smooth, balanced cup with notes of lemongrass and cocoa nib opening into caramel, vanilla, and toasted pecan, with a hint of black currant and candied apricot lingering into a soft cocoa finish.
Your roaster:
From Oregon's rugged southern coast, Kissing Rock Coffee is built on intention: small batches, air-roasted precision, and ethically sourced beans. Founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife team Andrew and Christine Houghtaling, the roastery grew from years of coffee farming and hands-on craft into one of the most exciting names in American specialty coffee, culminating in a brick-and-mortar café in Gold Beach in 2024.
What sets Kissing Rock apart is its fluid-bed air roasting method, which draws out sweetness and clarity without the bitterness of over-roasting. As farmers themselves, the Houghtalings bring a rare start-to-finish perspective; sourcing, roasting, and serving with equal care.
That craft has earned serious recognition: 16 medals across four categories at Golden Bean The Americas, including Gold for their signature Dancing Goat roast, followed by an invitation to the 2026 Golden Bean World Series in Newcastle, Australia. There, Kissing Rock took home 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, and was named Runner-Up for Overall World Roasting Champion.
Coastal, craft-driven, and quietly relentless, Kissing Rock Coffee is a small roastery with world-stage results, and a story still just beginning.
