Something Special | Monte Alban

Roaster Notes:

If you love rich, full bodied coffee, look no further! This Mexican coffee is a brownie bomb in a cup. Luscious dark chocolate covers the palette while swirls of buttery nuttiness begin to peep through almost as if your brownie contained glazed pecans. This chocolate lover’s dream is enhanced as it cools revealing another complex note. I can only describe it as eating butterscotch pudding using a pretzel as a spoon, and I only know that from pure experience. I challenge you to taste as many food combinations as you can. You will begin to experience coffee differently too.

Importer Notes:

"Over the years, farmers have improved their processing techniques under the guidance of our PECA educators. Initially, they used to mix all the ripe and unripe coffee fruits and ferment them for 8 hours. Drying was carried out for a few days so that they could sell the parchment coffee as quickly as possible to buyers at or below market price. When farmers joined the Producer Education Program, they changed their harvesting practices by increasing the number of harvests and focusing on optimal ripeness levels. Fermentation was also key to improving quality. It was extended from 8 hours to 24 to 40 hours, depen- ding on weather conditions and the available fermentation medium, such as concrete or plastic tanks. This resulted in a fruitier coffee and a more complex cup profile. In addition, drying practices were changed and times were extended to an average of 7 and 10 days. Overall, farmers have 12 hours of sunlight and no hot temperatures due to humid or cloudy weather. Where their farms are located, there is a window of time between 12 and 2 p.m. when the temperature rises, so they must take advantage of this time to dry the coffee on concrete patios or palm mats, very typical in the Mexican coffee culture."