How much do you know about Mexican coffee? To be honest I knew very little.
Doing a bit of last minute reading a few days before our flight I have found out that regions of Chiapas and Veracruz are the ones to visit for coffee farms and to taste THE best coffees available in Mexico. Unfortunately it was just a bit too late to change our road trip itinerary.
As a coffee lover I wasn’t going to give up easy and found a pretty amazing alternative – fresh roasted coffee tasting in Tulum, which was our first stop. And the absolutely best part – the guys are sourcing their coffee beans from the farms in those two regions!
We were greeted by AJ in a sunny cafe space hiding at the back of Tulum beach hotel Los Lirios. We could instantly feel this guy is passionate about coffee. The table was set with direct ocean views and pleasant breeze mixing with aromas of coffee being prepared was a bonus. He showed us different bags and jars of raw coffee beans to see distinction between different grades of coffee – poor quality and premium coffee. All beans are initially sifted through metal sheets with specifically sized holes. Poor quality beans come with various impurities and makes a cheap cup. I have never realized specialty beans are bigger and are re-sorted by hand literally one by one to make the perfect batch.
Roasting beans is rocket science to me. Well it actually is a science. The white raw beans would slowly change color to golden or caramel brown and final flavour will depend on the temperature, how many times beans crack, steam coming out, length of roasting – knowing precisely when it’s the right color and aroma to stop the process. AJ told us majority of coffee drinkers are used to strong dark, somewhat bitter coffee which is essentially over-roasted almost black color and oily. And as demand is there they have to intentionally over-roast some batches of coffee too.
We have been briefly introduced to a few different brew methods and French Press got the most praise. Did you know that French Press was actually invented by Italian?? It takes a little bit of practice to brew the perfect cup. Rushing to make morning coffee I have never noticed how ground coffee bubbles and slowly expands when you first cover it with one third of water. This is our favourite part now when using French Press at home.
The Tasting. We got to try three coffees and oh yes, it was worth every sip!
#1 from the Chiapas region – nutty with slight taste of caramel, a bit too sharp and strong for my liking
#2 from the Veracruz region – very smooth, fruity and fresher taste in comparison
#3 Cafe De Olla – Mexican spiced coffee – intensely flavoured by cinnamon, dash of brown sugar and one secret ingredient, which we guessed at the end. But secret has to stay a secret.
Enjoying second rounds of coffee whilst eating Mexican sweetbread we talked through which one we liked most. For us the winner was Veracruz roast and we also bought a few bags of fresh roasted beans to take home.
The coffee tasting experience with some tips and tricks (always check roasting date for the best taste!) was an incredibly good start of our Mexican road trip. And if we are heading back to Tulum – we know where to get great coffee from.
*I have found this coffee tasting on Air B&B experiences. £23.00 per person was well worth it. And 100g of ground coffee was included. Check them out here. Not sponsored.
