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Map of Puerto
Rico
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Crop Comments: |
Yauco
Selecto has been a solid cup, very mild but with interesting
nuances, for the past 3 seasons at least. We have a limited
supply of 2006 AA grade and, with care in roasting, the cup
is quite good. Remember, it is island profile in flavor, meaning
balanced and m-i-l-d ... mild. That's not a bad word in coffee,
it doesn't necessarily mean "milktoast." But if your idea of
great coffee is dry-process Harar, citric Kenya, or dizzying
high-altitude Centrals, be prepared to change gear when tasting
island coffees.
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I have tried other Puerto Rican coffees but only bought Yauco Selecto
in recent years. And we pick and choose the shipments because the
really early lots have a greenish cast to the cup flavors, and the
late lots turn a bit flat. When this coffee is on, in the mid-crop
pickings, don't expect fireworks ... rather, think about the general
term "island profile". These coffees, which include Jamaica and Kona,
have a soft cup, not acidic, balanced, and mild. They are approachable
coffees, and all happen to be quite expensive. (Be aware of the fact
that higher priced coffees don't necessarily have a "better" cup, but
rather that price is determined by the cost of production, and limited
availability. Remember that this is a coffee grown in the U.S. so
production costs are higher.) Here is some more background:
Puerto Rico has a well developed coffee tradition.
The history of coffee is closely tied to the
history of this Caribbean
island. First brought in 1736, the Spanish immigrants who settled on
the island relegated coffee to a secondary role for the most
part of the 18th century. At
the time, the fertile valleys were their main concern and sugar and the
crops were the order of the day. During the early part of the
19th century,
events in
Europe forced a migration of residents from the French Mediterranean
island of Corsica. They arrived to Puerto Rico and were quickly
told that if they wanted
to farm, they would have to go to the highlands for all the valleys were
taken by the Spanish immigrants. They settled in the Southwestern
Mountains of the island,
mostly around a town called Yauco. Hard work and determination was rewarded
when they brought forth the idea of growing coffee in these
high mountains. By the
1860s they dominated the coffee industry on the island and then made
two important decisions that would affect the course of their
history. Puertorrican coffee,
particularly from the Yauco region, received a premium price all over
Europe and by the 1890s represented a standard of excellence
in production that many other
countries sought to imitate. The island's production was the sixth largest
in the world, and the fruit of those high lands that the Corsicans
brought to life,
was the pick of the crop. Yauco Selecto's owners trace their origin to
this period. Two devastating hurricanes hit Puerto Rico during
1898.
The hurricanes destroyed
the coffee industry. Farmers needed to wait two years to begin seeing
the crop return to its normal level. During this time, it was
evident that the United States
was interested in Puerto Rico (along with Cuba and the Philippines) for
its sugar production. Tariffs gave coffee in Puerto Rico a severe
blow
as European nations
no longer allowed our coffee to come in as a colonial product. The United
States had a long standing agreement to buy the bulk of its
coffee from Brazil. Market opportunities for our coffee were
quickly drying up and all production efforts
were directed toward sugar. Due to the close ties to the United States,
growing coffee in Puerto Rico is a high cost operation. Just
like Hawaii
Kona, Puerto
Rico's labor cost reflect U.S. Government standards. Environmental policies
in effect in Puerto Rico also increase production costs. Yauco
Selecto is proud to
offer the top living conditions available in the coffee industry." -Excerted
from the Yauco Selecto literature (blah, blah, blah).
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