Artisan Roast: Mexico, Dinastía Altamirano CoE #3, Honey Process

Through the Cup of Excellence programme Mexican coffee is beginning to show it can rival the very best of Latin America in producing compelling coffees full of finesse and complexity. Many of these are from the Eastern state of Veracruz, where some of Mexico’s most lush vegetation thrives in the mountains rising from the Bay of Mexico.

It’s in these higher elevations that the Bourbon plants at the farm Dinastia Altamirano grow under forest shade, and the cool nights help fruit sugars fix while the coffee ripens slowly. Owners Samuel Altamirano Juárez and his father grow coffee on only 30% of the farm with the rest still set aside for forest and other foods, and in this bio-diversity the plants truly thrive.

They have innovated away from just traditional washed process coffee, and by moving towards honey processing they can use modern methods that retain the natural coffee sugars in their finished coffee. It is with this process that Samuel found success in this years Cup of Excellence placing third overall with this amazing 90-point coffee.

Kept medium to light in the roast to preserve its complexity, the most noticeable feature of this award-winning coffee is how a dense caramel and molasses like sweetness holds the coffee together from start to finish. Further fruit flavours of ripe kiwi, tamarind and red apple combine with more subtle flavours of sweet spice and honey. The red apple flavour is enhanced by a low-intensity malic acidity that provides the perfect amount of structure to add interest and persistence on a long-lasting finish.

Dinastia Altamirano is exclusive to Artisan Roast in Scotland and we are delighted to showcase the potential of Mexican coffee.