This beautiful and rare coffee is from the Nayarit region of Mexico. One of the reasons that its flavor profile is so unique is that it is naturally processed.
Natural processing of coffee originated in Ethiopia and is well suited to arid climates. It is a process that involves laying the coffee cherries out to dry in the sun, allowing the tannins and nutrients and sugars from the fruit go into the coffee bean. It is a risky method that requires favorable weather conditions and constant attention, but it requires much less water resources than the alternative method of washing the cherry off the seed. And if it is done right, results in berry notes and greater flavor complexity in the cup.
Coffee cherries for the El Corazon de Mexico start their drying process on the Arrocera patios. The different colored cherries are different varietals. Depending on the intensity of the sun, this coffee will take 10-20 days to dry and will be turned over with wooden rakes every hour for the first 3 days and every 30 mins from day 4 onward. During the evening hours the coffee is piled less than 2 feet high and covered with burlap sacks to maintain heat during the cool nights. Small errors during this step can be devastating to quality.
These sun-dried naturals have been drying for 13 days and are nearing completion. This specific lot of coffee will equate to roughly 200kg of green coffee, almost four standard sacks of exportable natural process coffee.
Our El Corazon de Mexico comes from San Cristobal Coffee Importers and is a product of the hard work of this farming corporative to make sure that this natural process is done right to produce the best coffee possible. We are proud to roast and present this coffee and all of its sweet cherry notes to you.
Farm direct and Certified Sustainably Grown.