This selection from Juan Jose Moguel ranked fourth in the Cafe Imports Lo Mejor De Mexico competition. Mexican coffees can sometimes be overlooked as far as quality, but this competition proves otherwise.
Nueva Linda is a Specialty Coffee Estate located in the Sierra Madre mountains of Southern Mexico in the state of Chiapas. The farm shares a buffer with the Triunfo Biospehere reserve, a tropical cloud forest preserve of some 50,000 acres, which helps to temper a changing climate and provide rich soil and clean water. This farm has also received a Rain Forest Alliance certification.
Don Octavio Moguel Farrera started in coffee farming as a driver in another farm, from there a love to produce coffee was born. After years of effort and hard work he purchased a small farm and began his life of quality coffee production.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Mexico Finca Nueva Linda, from Flying Baron Roasters in Lakewood, Colorado. Feel free to pull up a chair.
THE BASICS:
region: Chiapas, Mexico
farm: Finca Nueva Linda
producer: smallholder farmers
association: Ethiopia Commodity Exchange
elevation: 1250 – 1550 meters above sea level
cultivars: Mundo Nova, Caturra
process: fully washed, patio dried
certifications: Rainforest Alliance
THE BREW:
method: Aeropress
grind: 22, Preciso
coffee: 18 g
water: 290 mL
bloom: none
pour: very slow pour, 10 second stir, very slow press
THE COFFEE:
The aroma of the Mexico Finca Nueva Linda is sweet and it totally fills the nostrils, but it’s not overpowering. Rather, it’s fragrant and gently wafts up with scents of Dutch chocolate, honey, apple, and raisin, but there’s also just a touch of roastiness.
Taking my first few sips of the coffee immediately post-brew, while it’s still piping hot, it’s that roast that I taste first. It’s not dominant and it certainly doesn’t ruin the cup, but it is there. There’s even just the faintest hint of earth and wood, but it’s hardly noticeable. What is dominant, is the sweetness. Cocoa powder, toffee, and macadamia.
As it cools off, the roast, cedar, and earth dissipate quite a lot, allowing juicy, tart fruit flavors to take center stage—Fuji apple, green grape, honeydew melon, a mellow citrus acidity. The toffee dilutes a bit, too, taking on more of a honeyed texture, which also informs a raw honey flavor that mixes with brown sugar and nuts in the finish of each sip.
Medium body; honey mouthfeel; citrus acidity; slightly dry finish.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Flying Baron Roasters’s Mexico Finca Nueva Linda is a really nice cup of coffee. Sweet, fragrant, and mellow.
This wasn’t a coffee that really grabbed my attention or dazzled my palate; but it was one that, brew after brew, I casually sipped with pleasure until the cup was suddenly empty. And it wasn’t until it was gone that I realized how much I enjoyed the coffee.
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.