Puerto Rico Coffee | What are the Flavor Notes of San Pedro Estate Yauco Selecto AA?

Puerto Rico Coffee | The Flavor of San Pedro Estate's Yauco Selecto AA

In 1736, coffee trees were introduced to Puerto Rico from Martinique. Early coffee was mostly cultivated by Corsican immigrants. By 1896, Puerto Rico's coffee exports ranked sixth in the world, with most coffee being shipped to France, Italy, Spain, and Cuba. Coffee plantations flourished in the 19th century, but the rise of sugarcane and pharmaceutical cultivation, along with hurricane damage and war impacts, caused the coffee industry to stagnate. It is currently recovering.

Puerto Rico implements a low-wage system, with an average hourly wage of $4.20 in 1991. Despite this, the income of manual laborers was still higher than that of laborers in many other coffee-producing countries, comparable only to Hawaii and Jamaica. Another problem facing Puerto Rico's coffee industry is that in the Caribbean region, Puerto Ricans have relatively high educational qualifications, thus better employment prospects. Yauco Selecto coffee is grown only on three farms in the southwestern part of the island nation, with a fragrant and intense flavor that leaves a long-lasting aftertaste. This coffee commands a high price, with an aroma comparable to any other coffee variety in the world. In the Yauco region, this coffee is owned and operated by local plantation owners. The mountainous area here has a mild climate, plants have a longer maturation period (from October to February of the following year), and the soil is high-quality clay. Some old varieties of Arabica coffee beans are grown here, which, despite lower yields than other varieties, are generally of high quality. People here have always adopted an eco-friendly, intensive cultivation method, using only low-toxicity fertilizers and chemicals, and implementing mixed crop planting measures to make the soil more fertile. When it's time to harvest coffee beans, people move between coffee trees, picking only fully ripe coffee beans, which are then placed in drum devices and washed for 48 hours.

Today, Puerto Rico's gourmet coffee is exported to the United States, France, and Japan. The country's coffee is generally carefully cultivated, with pure flavor, aroma, and heavy beans, with the finest varieties ranking among world-famous brands. The highest-quality coffee is Yauco Selecto, where "Selecto" means "selected." Grand Lares Yauco coffee is produced in the southwestern part of the island, while Lares coffee is produced in the south-central region.

Yauco Selecto coffee is grown only on three farms in the southwestern part of the island nation, with a fragrant and intense flavor that leaves a long-lasting aftertaste. This coffee commands a high price, with an aroma comparable to any other coffee variety in the world. In the Yauco region, this coffee is owned and operated by local plantation owners. The mountainous area here has a mild climate, plants have a longer maturation period (from October to February of the following year), and the soil is high-quality clay. Some old varieties of Arabica coffee beans are grown here, which, despite lower yields than other varieties, are generally of high quality. People here have always adopted an eco-friendly, intensive cultivation method, using only low-toxicity fertilizers and chemicals, and implementing mixed crop planting measures to make the soil more fertile. When it's time to harvest coffee beans, people move between coffee trees, picking only fully ripe coffee beans, which are then placed in drum devices and washed for 48 hours.

Yauco Selecto coffee beans are stored with their hulls until shipping, when the outer skin is removed to ensure optimal freshness. When goods are submitted, relevant U.S. government personnel, such as from the FDA and USEA, are also present to supervise whether producers comply with federal regulations. There are also staff from local evaluation committees who take one bag as a sample from every 50 bags and use international measuring instruments to assess their quality.

Jaime Fortuño, president of the Escogido Yauco agency, silently oversees all this work every year, even the tiniest details. Fortuño is an investment banker who graduated from Harvard Business School. He originally decided to seize every opportunity to create a Puerto Rican premium coffee market. He expects a maximum annual production of 3,000 bags, each weighing 45 kilograms, which is less than 1% of the island's total coffee production.

San Pedro Estate, located on the west coast, began producing coffee beans in the 19th century. Initially, the coffee beans produced were handed over to west coast estates to be sold as Yauco Selecto. Today, it sells coffee completely under its own farm name San Pedro, with an annual production of about 1,000 bags. This is the first time Zhi Da Coffee has introduced Puerto Rican coffee beans.

Yauco Selecto is a fascinating coffee with a full range of flavors, no bitterness, rich in nutrients, and intense fruity taste that is worth savoring. Even Taylors in Harrogate, England, once imported 50 bags of Yauco Selecto coffee.

Coffee Details

Farm Name: San Pedro Estate

Farmer: Rebecca and Roberto Attienza

Grade: AA

City: Coabey - The highest valley city on the island of Puerto Rico

Region: Jayuya - Located on the west coast of Puerto Rico, Yauco region is located on the east coast

Altitude: 2,500-3,000 feet

Varietal: Bourbon, Typica

Processing System: Wet-processed

Total Pounds: 350,000 pounds

Appearance: 18+ screen

Aroma/Flavor: Grain aroma, drupe fruit, high mountain oolong tea fragrance, nuts, almonds, caramel, hawthorn, sugarcane sweetness, ginseng

Acidity: Smooth, gentle, clean, with slipperiness, oily texture, pomelo, mild low acidity, well-defined layers

Complexity and Other: Very sweet, long aftertaste, medium complexity, island coffee flavor

Brewing Recommendation by FrontStreet Coffee

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour 25g water for 25s pre-infusion. Second pour to 120g water then stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to half, then continue pouring. Slowly pour until reaching 225g water. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, stopping the water flow can extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

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