Yauco Selecto

About the coffee: This coffee comes from the Yauco region in Puerto Rico and, like Jamaican Blue Mountain, is pricey. Very pricey. Since I first met Peter Wolff from Veneziano Caffe, he has raved about it, so when he finally got some in a few weeks ago it was time for him to put his money where his mouth is. The coffee itself is hard, clean processed and had a great dark blue tinge to it. It roasted very evenly but, curiously, it looked much lighter on the outside than it did when it was ground. So was it any good?


The tasting notes:

Espresso
- 4 days old
-Silvia/Rocky
-LM Basket, up-dosed, extra 10 sec of heat, 2 min or so temp surf
-LM Cup full at circa 25 seconds, immediately dropped to 1/2 volume
-Sweet, but very gentle acidity, like drinking some sort of fruit juice; more, more!
-Marzipan and star fruit smell came out when brewing and was present in the cup, but not strongly (Daterra marzipan)
-Very balanced

Espresso
- 9 days
-Silvia/Rocky
-LM Basket, up-dosed slightly, extra 7 sec heat, 2 min or so temp surf
-45mL in 27 seconds
-Not as sweet, but still some sweetness
-Star fruit taste gone, but some vague rosewater/turkish delight flavours
-Acidity more muted
-Great syrupy body

Vac Pot - 9 days
-Vac potted twice this week, really need to work on my vac pot technique!
-Very, very clean
-Brown Sugar
-Again, fruit flavours muted, probably more technique than anything else. That said, the guests at mother dearest's b'day dinner didn't leave a single drop at the bottom of their cups.




Conclusions:

An awesome coffee that I'd happily drink again as a single origin espresso, unlike the Jamaican Blue Mountain that I've tried. Blending this one is probably a no-goer; I'd want to appreciate it for itself.

Links:

Tom's take at Sweet Maria's

Cafe Yauco Selecto's Webpage