About This Coffee

This Mexican coffee from the Huatusco region has varietals of Colombia, Costa Rica and Marsellesa. It has been washed with extended fermentation assisted by yeast starter culture. This special microlot is sourced from 7 producers from the Sampieri brothers and Zilli family farms as part of an innovation program in Mexico. These cherries were bought directly from the producers and employed new fermentation techniques to improve SCA cup score by up to 3 points.

Tasting Notes

Tropical fruits, orange bitters, blueberry.

Growing Coffee in Mexico

Huatusco is located in the central highlands of Veracruz where breathtaking mountain views are the norm. When coffee first came to Mexico from the Caribbean, it was planted in Veracruz. The combination of cool, high altitudes and a verdant subtropical climate are ideal for growing coffee.

Coffee production is among the most important activities in the region, with a long history that includes a festival at the conclusion of harvest known as La Viuda Del Café, “Coffee’s Widow,” named for the loneliness of the coffee plants following harvest. It is said that the coffee plants are in mourning until “courted” again during the next harvest. The celebrants wear crowns made from the leaves of coffee plants and prepare traditional foods. Tradition holds that the festival must take place to ensure a good harvest the following year.

The climate of the region around the town of Huatusco de Chicuellar is perfect for growing coffee, but peculiar in that it rains often and is cold at night. This can make fermenting and drying coffee complicated, which is why farmers tend to sell coffee in cherry. For Gerardo Sampieri and his brother, who have always been coffee farmers, the rugged mountain region around Huatusco is home. Bernardo Zili and his coffee farm, Tlacotla, have earned a reputation for growing and nurturing excellent coffee.

They recently certified their farms Rain Forest Alliance and are very proud of the high certification score.

The Process

While fermentation is a very dynamic process there are some elements that are in our control. Elements like time, temperature, and cherry ripeness are the basics. Extended fermentation follows one of two pathways in the 'Project Capture' innovation series. The first is to use the indigenous microorganisms which are naturally present in the cherry pulp and skin, much like in Natural Wine production. The second pathway - and the one utilised for this lot - introduces a starter culture, specially formulated for coffee, which will enhance the production of favourable volatiles (flavour elements).

Ripe coffee cherries are carefully handpicked and sorted to remove any damaged or unripe fruits. These coffee cherries are then sprayed with starter culture and fermentation is continued for 60 hours in a closed environment.  The starter culture along with the indigenous microorganisms present in the cherries ferment the coffee cherries and produce desirable aroma precursors through fermentation of sugars to organic acids and alcohols and further to fruity esters.

Post fermentation, the coffee cherries are dried as natural coffees on raised beds. When these coffees are roasted the aroma precursors turn into desirable aroma including fruity esters, aldehydes, ketones and terpenoids providing the much desired highlighting fruitiness, acidity and full body to the coffee.