December 2011’s pick

Mexican Terruno Nayarita Reserva

An indulgent Grand Cru of a Mexican coffee

Hand-sorted to create an exclusive lot of around just 20 bags, this is an exceptionally enjoyable coffee which, like the wines, is ranked as reserva due to the high quality and limited nature of each bean lot.

From

A co-operative of 260 family farms in central Mexico.

Altitude: 1300m

Arabica beans grown at this height equal the finest grade of Mexican coffee - SHG or Strictly High Grown. In fact, the official name of this bean is Arabia SHG Altura. In general, all coffee - wherever in the world it's cultivated - is considered better the higher it's grown.

Tasting notes

Mexican coffee is often likened to a light white wine; mild and very easy to drink. Freshly brewed, it teases the nostrils with a toasty almond-like nutty aroma and really whets the appetite. In the mouth it feels so luscious and creamy it could almost be a comfort drink. Beautifully balanced from start to finish, it has a delicate orangey sweetness paired with a sliver of spiced chocolate. All rather festive you might say.

Where's this coffee from?

Mexico Terruño Nayarita Reserva is from a co-operative of 260 coffee growers spread across the slopes of a volcano in the west coast region of Nayarit, central Mexico. Each farmer owns at most a few football pitch-sized plots.

The beauty of such small farms is the first-class attention to detail shown by the growers, and the companies that work with them, to get their coffee sold abroad; the level of care and expertise at every stage from picking to bagging could not be replicated by machine.

All coffee from Terruño Nayarita is shade-grown which means trees protect the crops from the fierce midday sun. The beans are prepared for selling with the wet method using water to remove the four layers protecting each prized bean, a process that leads to a coffee that's cleaner, brighter and fruitier.

Do say: These beans were picked, dried, processed, sorted, graded and bagged by hand. Only the very best beans are put togther in each lot Even if that lot only consists of a few bags.

Don’t say: I only thought you could get reserva wines.

What makes this coffee a reserva?

The day it's picked, farmers take their crop to the central mill where a team of professional tasters - called cuppers - grade it. It's not enough to grow healthy coffee plants and carefully harvest the fruit, the coffee must pass through a series of technical checks if it's to be graded formally and sold at premium prices.

Cuppers look for outstanding flavour and aroma characteristics. As well as having passed all the grading steps, including size of bean and moisture content, this reserva is composed exclusively of 'quality fruit with less than 5% insect damage' and under 1% unripe fruit.

To guarantee provenance and allow traceability this lot's details are logged in a database. You can trace it online at www.trackyourcoffee.com by entering its unique code: SCM8605001.

In the table that appears you'll learn exactly which community among the 260 farmers your coffee came from, how many bags were in this one-off lot, plus a scan of the original certification of authenticity.