Mexico La Concordia Decaf - Espresso

Mexico La Concordia Decaf - Espresso

Very pleased to present our 4th Mexican coffee to be released, we have selected 4 lots from this years harvest, through our importer partners Ensambles. It comes from the Chiapas region by an amazing group of around 540 small holder producers who bring their coffees to a central mill to be sorted and processed together.

This coffee is a perfect example of how these farmers Bio-dynamic approach create exquisite quality and delicious coffee while creating an educational and sustainable environment.

It's also one of the tastiest decafs we have had in the roastery! 

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• Producers + Mill:

Cafeco (CAFEtaleros de la COncordia), is a 540-member cooperative founded by Jose Arguello, the 3 times COE winner whose winning farm is in the highest mountains of La Concordia. The coop was founded in 2015 in order to consolidate the coffees from Jose’s small scale neighbours and attend a growing specialty market looking for consistent qualities and traceability.

In addition to market access, Cafeco provides many services to his members.
· certified seeds at cost price in order for producers to have solid varietals that will face today’s climatic challenges.
· Cafeco’s team of agronomists advise members on organic farming and farm management for yield optimization.
· Cafeco’s lab and in-house Q grader cups each producer’s coffee individually and provide feedback and data for decision making.
· they support farmers with financing when needed, whether it is for the
preparation of the next crop, or for a longer term renovation project.

The lack of knowledge and the lack of access to financing being small scale growers’ biggest obstacles, Cafeco strives to provide those services to sup- port and maintain the livelihood of La Concordia’s coffee producers. Ensambles supports QC and access to roasters who will recognize the value of Cafeco to their community.

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• Varieties:

Typica (also Tipica) forms the genetic backbone of much of specialty coffee today. The first coffee plantations grown in America and Asia were of the Typica variety and many of the most widely cultivated C. arabica crops today are descended directly from the plant.

In general, Typica is very similar in appearance to the Bourbon plant (of which it is a very close relative) although it has fewer secondary branches and the leaves are normally smaller than those of Bourbon. It is usually identifiable by its bronze leaf tips. The plants are tall (3.5 – 4m) and the berries have an elongated, oval shape.

Even though Typica has a relatively low yield it is known to produce coffee with high cup quality. It is, however, very susceptible to diseases and is becoming increasingly less common for this reason. (Info source: Mercanta)

Catimor was developed in Portugal in 1959 by scientists searching for the magical formula of high yields, high disease resistance and small plant size (i.e. higher density planting). The variety is a hybrid of the Timor Hybrid (resistant to coffee leaf rust due to its Robusta genetic roots) and Caturra.

Catimor trees are small in size, allowing for more dense plantings, and fruit is quick to ripen, guaranteeing high productivity if well maintained. Its branch is ramified similarly to C. canephora plants and its leaves have a tell-tale reddish brown hue when they are just emerging. One of the main challenges in cultivating Catimor can be the inputs (fertilisation and shade) required to maintain productivity, which need to be monitored very closely and can be costly.

Today Catimor is common throughout Indonesia and Vietnam. In the wake of Central America’s coffee leaf rust crisis, it is also becoming increasingly common at higher altitudes in countries such as Mexico and Peru.

One of the major issues often cited with Catimor is the issue of cup quality. At low altitudes, there tends to be little or no sensory difference between the variety and other C. arabica varieties. Distinction in taste can arise, however, when the plants are planted higher than 1,200 metres above sea level. In such cases, many would express a preference for Caturra, Bourbon and Catuaí. However, we’ve met Catimors that we like very much, indeed – for instance, those from Vietnam and Indonesia. We maintain that well-cared-for and well-processed Catimor can display great characteristics. (Info from Mercanta Coffee)

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• Process:

Once the cherries are picked at their ripest, then before they are pulped and washed, they are floated to remove low density cherries.

Once pulped, the parchment is dried on patios for 20-24 days.

The decaffeination took place at Descamex using the Mountain Water Process, which is a carefully regarded secret, but rest assured there is no drop in the quality or the amount of caffeine that is removed (99.9%)

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• Region: Chiapas.
• Producer: Cafeco Co-op
• Importer: Ensambles
• Price (green ex shipping): £11.27 Per Kg
• Variety: Typica, Catimor, Penasco
• Process: Mountain water decaf/Washed Process
• Altitude: 1100 – 1400 masl

• Tasting: High Sweetness, Balanced, Syrupy, Complex
• Flavours like: Marzipan, Dates, Liquorice,  Brown Sugar