Spotlight on...Mexico Altura Veracruz
Carrie Masek
Just a few weeks ago, we put a coffee in the Spotlight that doesn't get enough respect, a high grown Mexican coffee we call Mexico Altura. It was a lovely, balanced coffee, and it sold out quickly. We've replaced it with another high grown coffee from Mexico, this one from Veracruz.
Most of the Mexican coffees we've featured are grown in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, near the Guatemalan border. Coffee from that region tends to be lively, rich and balanced, and often tastes like a lighter version of a Colombian coffee.
Mexico Altura Veracruz is grown on small farms, most around 4 acres, on the slopes of the Sierra Madre de Oriental facing the Caribbean. Even though the mountains are about 60 miles from the shore, ocean breezes cool the coffee plants and shape the flavor of the coffee beans. As a result, Mexico Altura Veracruz tastes sweeter, more like coffee grown on a Caribbean island.
Best of all, unlike its more expensive and fragile Caribbean cousins, Mexico Altura Veracruz is a relatively inexpensive coffee that's grown high enough to take any roast level well. We like it roasted to a light (City) roast level, to heighten tangerine sweetness. At a medium (Full City or Vienna) roast level, the coffee becomes richer with chocolate and buttery graham cracker notes. Take it even darker for a sweeter, bolder cup spiced with a hint of sweet clove.
Do you enjoy coffee from Mexico? If you do, we'd love to hear from you. You can share your thoughts on the Facebook thread or in a comment on this blog. Or, if you'd like to share your opinion with the wider world, leave us a coffee review on Google or on your favorite review site. Not only do we value your opinions, but reviews help more people find us. Help us connect coffee lovers to fresh, quality coffee!
Thanks!
~ Carrie, Paul and all of us at Coffee by the Roast