September, 2008

Specialty Estate Coffee of the Month - Cuba Altura Lavado

Moving a little further north of our previous Specialty Estate, this month we revisit an old friend – Cuba. Home to famous cigars, and some of the world’s finest Arabica beans.

Having suffered from a severe drought in 1997 & 1998, eastern Cuba was then devastated by a hurricane in 1999. Being that the eastern area of the island accounts for about 80% of coffee production, this has had wide spread effect on the exporting of coffee from Cuba.

The coffee plantations are located mainly in three regions. The most important are in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma (on the slopes and valleys, in the mountains of eastern Cuba); the Escambray Mountains near the centre of the island; and, to a lesser extent, the Sierra del Rosario, close to the western tip of Cuba in the province of Pinar Del Rio. These locations provide a comfort for the Arabica coffee bean, with 55 to 70 inches of rain and moisture evenly distributed during the year, deep and rich soils, and temperatures ranging from 21 degrees Celsius in the winter and up to 25 degrees Celsius in the summer. It is from the central mountain region where we have managed to obtain some of the most important beans which are from Crystal Mountain.

We found they are best represented as a light roast. The beans come out of the roaster before the 2nd crack at a light colour which seems to continue development after roasting. Oils are also quite apparent, and will continue to mature over time. Cupping the roast we discovered a light acidity, which seems to disappear while still holding the coffee in your mouth. Further along the palate we found a pleasant earthiness (or smokiness), which is accompanied by a buttery mouth feel. Whether you have this one in your plunger in the morning or as an espresso shot at the end of the day, this coffee will certainly demonstrate why we wanted to revisit Mr Kastro’s island.

Click here to order your bag now – we don’t expect this coffee to hang around for long with all of the Kastro fans jumping in!!

ENJOY!
Harriet
The Koffee Purist