Crown Jewel Mexico San Mateo Yoloxochitlán Double Fermented and Washed CJ1534 – 31325 – SPOT RCWHSE

taste

Taste Analysis by Chris Kornman 

One of the very nicest Oaxacan coffees we’ve crossed paths with in years, this selection from smallholder farmers in the northern quadrant of the province elicited praise and delight at cupping tables and in various brewing and service trials. It’s already slated to appear as a light roast drip option at The Crown, and we can’t wait to show our regulars this balanced, fruit-forward and exceedingly sweet coffee. 

The first encounter with this coffee as a sample roast was unexpectedly rife with unique cupping notes. It’s deep and rich, and the thing that seemed to strike everyone first was its decadent texture. The word cloud for the coffee is revealing, because even in our most fruited coffees we often find frequently repeated notes of chocolate and caramel, which while expectedly present here are dwarfed by strong stone fruit and citrus flavors – plum, grapefruit, sweet lemon, and nectarine. 

One of the things I — and I suspect many roasters — will appreciate about this coffee is its versatility. On the lighter side this coffee’s nuanced complexity shines like few other Mexican coffees we’ve seen. At darker levels, the lush richness is cake-like and creamy with sufficient sweetness to carry the coffee head-and-shoulders above other, more fickle selections. Note Colin’s brew analysis, in which they tried the coffee in multiple pour-over and filtered immersions with widely ranging – yet equally enjoyable – results. And of course, MJ’s espressos, pulled with precision, evoke a sense of tradition but with the elegant edge of experimentation. 

It can’t be overlooked that this producer group is utilizing uncommon multi-stage fermentation prior to washing. With coordinated processing efforts, this coffee has achieved a level of quality uncommon in such group efforts. We’re here to celebrate it, and we hope you are too. There’s just a few boxes available from this harvest, and we’d encourage you to jump on the opportunity. After all, you only live once. 

source

Source Analysis by Mayra Orellana-Powell 

Collaborative Sourcing 

When coffee is cultivated and harvested from small family owned farms, exporters play a critical role in ensuring quality and fairness. The collaborative sourcing team of Terra Coffeas México and an export company called Galguera Gomez hits the mark on delivering high quality community lots with traceability and transparent pricing for farmers. Galguera Gomez has been preparing and exporting coffee since 1985 and specializes in preparing traceable Oaxacan lots and paying producers higher incomes for the quality of their coffee. Terra Coffeas México provides post-harvest strategies and cupping expertise that has brought many talented producers into the specialty coffee fold. The model is the perfect hybrid where individual farmers take responsibility for farm management and the post-harvest process with support from Terra Coffeas México, ensuring that each farmer has access to best practices. 

Growing Region 

This particular lot comes from families living near the town of San Mateo Yoloxochitlán who cultivate coffee on farms with just a few acres. Known as the Sierra Mazateca de Oaxaca, this growing region is located in the northernmost corner of Oaxaca where the local population still wear traditional indigenous clothing and intercrop coffee with bananas, corn, beans, and fruit trees. 

Processing details 

During the harvest, each producer follows a strict protocol which includes picking cherries at optimum ripeness, hand sorting, and floating in a salt solution to remove damaged, undeveloped beans and inoculate the cherries before macerating for 48 hours. Next the beans are depulped, and fermented for 24 hours while submerged in water. After fermentation, the parchment is washed and placed on patios or raised beds to slowly dry to 11%. 

Exporting preparation 

Dried coffee is transported to the Galguera Gomez dry mill facility where coffee is received and stored in GrainPro bags, cupped and selected for export. The Galguera Gomez preparation ensures traceability and quality control throughout the post-harvest process, which is a vital process for establishing higher prices for producers. 

green

Green Analysis by Chris Kornman 

This clean, double-fermented and washed coffee from northern Oaxaca demonstrates classic green metrics for the region. The coffee is sorted to mostly 16+ screen size, a little larger than other Mesoamerican coffee sort standards. The moisture content and water activity are both moderate, indicating both freshness and shelf stability. The density is moderate as well. Nothing here to rock the boat – steady green measurements like this usually equate to steady roasting. 

The coffee is comprised of legacy classics, including Bourbon and Typica (sometimes locally called Pluma). There’s also a Marsellesa cultivar here, a classic recipe Sarchimor, first introduced in Nicaragua under collaborative effort with the French research group CIRAD and multi-agricultural commodity trader ECOM, and was created specifically to resist the coffee leaf rust fungus. 

deidrich IR-5

Diedrich IR-5 Analysis by Doris Garrido 

Mexico has around 16 coffee producing states, Oaxaca being in the top four of in terms of production. It’s likely we haven’t seen the great work that producers have been doing in Mexico, since most Mexican coffee has been traded in the commodity market. But sometimes, like now, we get to work with a great coffee like this one from la Sierra Mazateca. This region is in Oaxaca, a state well known for its rich culinary culture, its production of the world-famous Mezcal, and the high quality of its chocolate. Not to mention the arts, textiles, and cultural richness of its 19 ethnicities that make the state so popular. And even though Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate, coffee is now finding its place, and chocolate is not the only tasting note that you can find in its coffees. Be ready to taste cleanliness, bright, clear, and juicy acidity, with a complex sweetness and a rounded body.  

This coffee came to us from Yoloxochitlan Oaxaca with average density and moisture content. With that in mind, I planned a slightly longer roast, looking to be gentle with the coffee, with a little longer Maillard, and a moderate post-crack development. 

The 5.5lb. batch in the 5 kilo Diedrich started with a hot drum (Temperature set at 411°F) as this was my first roast of the day. I decided to use 50% airflow from the beginning, to help soften the impact at charging. 

I start the roast with 30% gas from the beginning and added to 70% after 2 minutes. I closed the air a few seconds after the turning point. At this point I wanted to leave the gas to work and push the roast to the color change; air will slow the process during this phase. 

Yellowing started happening at 302.1°F and at 317°F I pushed the gas down to 60% and then to 30%. 

At 362°F I opened to 50% air again and a little later to 100% at 376.9°F. The cracking started at 385°F and I went for 1:30 minutes post-crack development. I closed my pilot at 396.7°F just when I noticed my rate of rise trying to run. I got to finish the roast simply fine.  

The next day the aroma was the first remarkable thing to notice, I was quite sure the processing that the producer had done had elevated this coffee. First pass on the cupping: juicy, zesty, bright, and vibrant acidity, with notes of plum, lemon, mango, and then the complex sweetness: hard candy, dry dates, clean caramel. Overall clean coffee with a balanced complexity, and a silky body. I personally prefer this roast brewed on filter just to bring the the floral that I love, but as Chris Kornman has mentioned, it is a versatile coffee that can be roasted and numerous ways. Soon I will be roasting it to become our light roast option here at The Crown in Oakland. Don’t miss the opportunity to stop by and taste what Yoloxitlan Oaxaca coffees has to offer … because YOLO. 

ikawa pro v3

Ikawa Pro V3 Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano 

Our current Ikawa practice compares two sample roast profiles, originally designed for different densities of green coffee. The two roasts differ slightly in total length, charge temperature, and time spent between color change in first crack. You can learn more about the profiles here. 

Our recent Mexican arrivals have everyone at The Crown on the edge of our seats. The cup quality and the profiles are something we are extremely excited about. Decidedly, I enjoyed analyzing these Ikawa roasts with Doris more than usual as their contrasts were distinct and had a lot to offer in their own right.

The high-density roast was up first with a mildly darker roast and notes of cacao, dark cherry and bergamot. The body was incredibly full and lush – ideal for anyone looking for a classic dark roast profile. It had a hint of dryness but nothing a splash of cream wouldn’t solve. The light-density roast had an interesting mix of nutmeg, orange peel, melon like acidity, raisin and mild florals. A sort of peppery aroma paired with the complexity of this coffee was surprising and made the experience more pleasurable as the coffee cooled down. 

You really get the best of both worlds with this coffee. It has the versatility to go to the dark or light side depending on your needs and the time of year you are serving. Which side will you choose? 

You can roast your own by linking to our profiles in the Ikawa Pro app here: 

Roast 1: Low Density Sample Roast 

Roast 2: High Density Sample Roast   

brew

Brew Analysis by Colin Cahill 

Things were slower in the Tasting Room when Doris brought us a Diedrich roast of this beautiful new coffee from Oaxaca. It was a treat to slow down with this coffee, to pull out a few more brewing devices, and to try a few more brew recipes. Over and over again, we received fruity yet well-balanced brews with juicy acidity and syrupy sweetness—think caramel and date syrup. We received a sweet and bright brew on the conical Hario V60 full of citrus notes, and one on the Clever immersion brewer that had almost no discernable citric acidity, a rich body, and notes of pear, caramel, and macadamia. To highlight more of the contours of this coffee’s sensory qualities, I want to focus on a pair of brews on the flatbed Kalita Wave. 

With this coffee, we played around with a few different grind sizes on our EK43, primarily in a range from 8.5 to 11.5, as well as with the coffee dosing, working with 18-20 gram doses. We fixed our water temperature at 201F/93.9C, and kept a consistent series of water pulses, starting with bloom pulses of 50 grams, allowed to bloom for 40 seconds starting from the first drop of water onto the bed of grounds, followed by pulses of 150 grams at that 40 second point and 100 grams at 1:40.  

Working with an 18 gram dose, ground at a 9 on our EK43, we received a brew in a total brew time of 3:37 with a TDS of 1.41 and an extraction percentage of 20%. This brew was syrupy, loaded with sweet and rich molassesy flavors, including brown sugar, caramel, root beer candy, cola, and chocolate. It had a slightly broader acidity with notes of plum, lingonberry, and kiwi berry, and it had a balanced floral note, reminiscent of coffee flower or jasmine. This brew offered complex layers of flavor, many of which are more approachable for a broad audience.  

Increasing the dose to 18.5, but softening the grind size to a 10 on our EK43, we increased the brighter acids while also speeding up the drain time. This brew finished in 3:17, with a lower TDS of 1.32. Despite the lighter body, this was a bold, sweet, and bright brew. We tasted grapefruit, peach, nectarine, lemon, iced lemon tea, and cocoa. This was a refreshing, chuggable brew, albeit lacking some of the indulgence of the heavier brews of this coffee. Increasing the coffee dose seemed to consistently increase the brightness of the brews of this coffee, and a finer grind (especially on a flatbed or immersion brewer) consistently yielded a heavier, creamier body. This is a coffee that can shine in a brighter, fruitier flavor zone, as well as a richer, heavier zone, being clean, dynamic, and well-balanced with a lovely range of acids. 

espresso

Espresso Analysis by MJ Smith 

Recipe 1: 19g dose, 40g yield, 31 seconds 
Recipe 2: 19.5g dose, 38.5g yield, 30 seconds 

As soon as I started grinding this coffee, I was greeted with the sweet, caramelly aroma of butterscotch, which brought me right back to my grandmother’s house when I was a kid. Instantly I knew that I was going to love this coffee as an espresso. It’s packed full of berries, cherries, and citrus notes, all wrapped up in a warm caramelly sweetness. Each sip gave me something new to taste. At the first of sounding redundant with my past espresso analyses, I found something enjoyable in almost every shot I pulled. However, my favorite shots were the ones in the 19-19.5 gram dose range.  

First up, we have a 19g dose, 40g yield, and a 31 second pull time. This shot had a lot going on, in the best way possible. Initially, I picked up bright notes of pomegranate, apple cider, and orange, but the more I sipped, I was able to pick up sweeter notes of caramel, macadamia, and oatmeal cookie. I shared it with some of the barista team and they came up with notes of cherry, toasted marshmallow, praline, dark chocolate, and root beer. All in all, a truly enjoyable shot.  

Next, I increased the dose to 19.5g in and brought the yield down a bit to 38.5g out, with a 30 second pull time. I think this was my favorite of all. Some of those tart notes from the previous recipe had calmed down a bit, and the warmer, sweeter notes were a little more present. I first noticed flavors of cherry cola, ripe plum, and citrus candy, and was left with lingering notes of macadamia, baking spice, and toasted corn cereal (think Corn flakes). While I really enjoyed both of the recipes I listed, I found this shot to be just slightly more sippable than the last.  

Overall, I think this coffee makes for a delicious, crowd-pleasing espresso. I tried some shots in the 18-18.5g dose range and liked them, but I found that it truly shined in the 19-19.5g range (for reference, the batch of coffee I used for this analysis was 7 days off-roast). I highly suggest this coffee if you’re looking for an eye-opening espresso that everyone will enjoy. I hope you like it as much as I do!