What is Puerto Rican Coffee, How to Brew Puerto Rican Coffee? Puerto Rican Coffee Flavors

The Rich History of Puerto Rican Coffee

Puerto Rico has a coffee production history of nearly three hundred years and was once one of the largest producing regions in the world. According to Starbucks' website, in 1736 Spanish explorers brought coffee from the plantations of France's Louis XIV to the island. The reputation of Yaucono Selecto was once comparable to Hawaii's Kona and Jamaica's Blue Mountain, and it was a favorite of European royal courts and the Vatican. Until the nineteenth century, coffee houses in Vienna, Paris and Madrid served it exclusively.

The Decline of Coffee in Puerto Rico

What caused the decline of coffee in Puerto Rico? The reasons reach back to 1898 and the Spanish-American War, when Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States, making it a US commonwealth in the Caribbean. Unlike the 50 states, it cannot enjoy some federal benefits but must comply with a range of regulations, and its economy has been burdened by debt for many years. The government has carried a debt of up to USD 70 billion and officially began to default this August; once a territory defaults it cannot seek bankruptcy protection, which is why it has been nicknamed "America's Greece." Puerto Rico has also held four referendums, the most recent in 2012, when 61% of citizens favoured becoming the 51st state of the United States, though congressional approval remains uncertain.

The decline of Puerto Rico's coffee industry is closely tied to this economic shift. During the Spanish-American War, the United States had already established strong and lasting coffee trade agreements with the coffee giant Brazil, and paid little attention to the newly acquired Puerto Rico. US economic interests in the Caribbean were concentrated mainly in sugar, which led to the expansion of local sugarcane production and left small-scale coffee farmers unable to compete. Surviving coffee companies had to merge repeatedly to preserve their strength, and it is said that the quality of local varieties suffered as a result.

Today, Puerto Rico's coffee production cannot even meet domestic demand and requires importing raw beans for roasting. Consequently, the coffee we eagerly buy may contain an uncertain share of beans actually harvested on the island.

However, the coffee shortage on the island is not entirely due to reduced production. Because of closer ties with the United States, few locals are willing to work in coffee picking, and many coffee farmers have moved to the mainland. According to records, a quarter of the coffee on the trees is wasted each year for lack of harvesting. Those who remain are reluctant to spend all day bending over on steep slopes under a scorching sun, given minimum wage laws, government subsidies and other social welfare benefits.

Compared with the rest of Latin America, Puerto Rico has the highest per capita GDP, but compared with the mainland it ranks below even the poorest state, Mississippi, with 41% of people living below the poverty line. Importing labor from other regions would mean paying minimum federal wages and basic health insurance and complying with stricter environmental policies, which erodes its competitiveness against neighbors such as the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba.

Yauco: The Jewel of Puerto Rican Coffee

Puerto Rico's Yauco and Jamaica are both part of the Greater Antilles, located in the Atlantic off Central America, and are renowned island coffee-producing countries. Puerto Rican coffee has a history of over two hundred years. Coffee cultivation began in 1736, but initially coffee was not the main economic crop here, with sugar taking the lead. Around 1800, unrest in Europe brought residents of the French Mediterranean island of Corsica to Puerto Rico. At that time the valley lands were already occupied by Spanish immigrants, so they chose to settle in the southwestern mountainous region of the island, near Yauco city. To survive they began planting different crops, and coffee brought them a good income. By 1860, coffee had become the main export crop locally. Yauco was also well known in early Taiwan, though it has become quite rare in recent years as production shifted toward the domestic market.

Yauco Selecto coffee is produced exclusively from three coffee farms in southwestern Puerto Rico. These three farms have excellent locations with natural environments well suited to coffee growing, and the coffee is carefully cultivated there. Processing is meticulous, and the Yauco Selecto beans are even stored in their parchment form until shipment to preserve the coffee's flavor as fully as possible.

Yauco Selecto production is extremely low, accounting for only about 1% of Puerto Rico's total coffee production. Combined with relatively expensive labor costs, the price of Yauco Selecto has always been staggeringly high.

Yauco Selecto is revered not just for its low production, high cost and superior growing environment. In the end, coffee depends on how it tastes, and Yauco Selecto's flavor is equally distinctive.

It has a rich aroma with the sweet fragrance of tropical fruits that refreshes the soul. The rising aroma seems to wrap around a bountiful fruit basket - just smelling it makes you feel completely at one with the coffee.

The fruity aroma blends with the fruit flavors in the taste, bringing intense fruitiness and bright acidity. Yauco Selecto has almost no bitterness (or perhaps the intense fruit aroma and acidity mask it), with a very pure and bright taste. Even a light sip can clear away worries and unhappiness, leaving your mood as fresh as the sky after rain.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing parameters for Puerto Rican coffee:

V60 / 90°C / 1:15 / time: 2 minutes

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Puerto Rico's best coffees and Jamaica's Blue Mountain share a similar island heritage, a gentle climate and a reputation for balance, so if you enjoy the clean, fruit-forward style of Yauco Selecto, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1. It is graded Blue Mountain No.1, the top tier of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, and comes from the historic Clifton Estate. Roasted medium-dark to bring out its classic balance, the cup shows layered nuts, dark chocolate and creamy caramel with a soft sweetness, and it stays coordinated from the first sip to the last.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing Blue Mountain as a pour-over with a Kono dripper, which helps build body. Use 15g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio, water at 87-88°C and a grind slightly coarser than you would use for a light roast - roughly the texture of granulated sugar. Pour in three stages: 30g of water to bloom for 30 seconds, then a slow, steady pour to 120g, and finally a slightly faster pour to 225g to avoid clogging the filter and over-extracting.

For the fullest flavor, let the beans rest for 4-7 days after the roast date before brewing.