Puerto Rico Coffee Bean Flavor Profile: Nutty, Creamy, and Rich Notes

FrontStreet Coffee - Puerto Rico Coffee Introduction

Puerto Rico is a very small place, yet it enjoys the highest standard of living of any country in Latin America. Its political and economic environment is stable, its people are well educated, and wages are relatively high. It is this beautiful and peaceful island that produces Puerto Rican coffee, which has earned considerable attention in the coffee world. Among its coffees, Puerto Rico Yauco Selecto stands out: international coffee tasters have ranked it third in the world, behind only Jamaica Blue Mountain and Hawaii Kona.

Coffee has a long history in Puerto Rico. As a Caribbean island, it already had a commercial coffee industry by the 1860s. Interestingly, rising import tariffs imposed by the United States and other countries in recent years have shrunk the industry considerably, but the resulting consolidation has raised both the level of cultivation and the quality of the product.

Puerto Rico Yauco SELECTO AA

Country of Origin: Puerto Rico

Grade: AA

Growing Region: Puerto Rico

Brand: Yauco SELECTO AA

Processing Method: Wet processing

Appearance: 2 d/300gr, 18+SCR

Variety: Bourbon

Yauco SELECTO is a famous small-lot specialty coffee from Puerto Rico with very limited production, under 200 tons a year. It shows the clear flavour signature of an island coffee, with lower acidity. The dry aroma carries caramel, the wet aroma brings cream and nuts, the mouthfeel is balanced, and the finish leaves a rosemary note. In Europe, Puerto Rican coffee is regarded as a benchmark of high quality.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Puerto Rico's island profile sits close to Jamaica Blue Mountain, so if you enjoy Yauco Selecto, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is the natural next cup. It comes from the historic Clifton Mount estate, where coffee has been grown and processed since around 1750 at an average elevation of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 metres), and it is roasted medium-dark to bring the classic balance of acidity, sweetness, bitterness and aroma into focus.

In the cup it is very clean and complex, gentle and chocolate-sweet, with a strong body and no harsh bitterness, only a measured, rounded acidity. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain is freshly roasted within 5 days and reaches its peak after resting for 4 to 7 days.

FrontStreet Coffee recommends a Kono dripper, 15g of coffee, a 1:15 ratio and 87-88C water, ground slightly coarser than you would use for a light roast, about the texture of white sugar. Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour to 120g, then continue to 225g, using a slow vertical stream and gentle circles and finishing slightly faster so the grounds do not clog the dripper and over-extract.