Traditionally, Mexico has been a country not typically well known for producing incredible specialty coffee. For years, the coffees we’ve tasted from Mexico have been poorly processed, masking the incredible potential that exists in Central America’s largest country.
Mexico has all the right ingredients for producing some of the best coffees in Central America: high altitudes (1200-1800 Meters), heirloom coffee varieties (Typica and Bourbon), and very fertile soils.
This micro-lot was carefully picked and dried by a single farmer, Agustin Gomez. His farm is located in the community of Emilio Zapatas, just outside of Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas, just a few hours from the Guatemala border. He is a member of the Comon Yaj Noptic (Comon) Cooperative which has 147 small to medium sized members. Comon is a part of a larger, umbrella organization known as El Triunfo.
El Triunfo is one of the first cooperatives in Mexico to start segregating individual farmer lots from from some of their best producers, including this one. This allows producers the capacity to have a direct relationship with buyers as well as the possibility of negotiating quality premiums.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping a cup of Organic Mexico Gomez Microlot, from Kickapoo Coffee Roasters in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Feel free to pull up a chair.
the basics:
region: Emiliano Zapata, Chiapas, Mexico
farm: Agustin Gomez microlot
producer: Agustin Gomez
association: Comon Cooperative
elevation: 1691 meters above sea level
cultivars: Caturra
process: pulped natural, patio dried
certifications: Organic, Fair Trade
the coffee:
The aroma that comes wafting off the Mexico Gomez is delicate and perfumey. The dry aroma presents scents of raw cocoa and peanut butter, while the wet aroma blossoms with honey, white wine, and cherry blossoms.
The cup kicks off with a lightly sweet, honeyed flavor and mouthfeel. In between crusty/savory notes of English toffee, nougat, cocoa powder, honey, cinnamon streusel, and old-fashioned coffee cake, there is a small amount of juicy fruits pushing their way through—raisin, Fuji apple, and cranberry, most notably.
As it cools, though, juicy fruits take over the profile pushing the toffee, cinnamon, and pistachio flavors to the back so that they really show up in the finish. Absolutely beautiful white wine-like notes of green grape, orange and orange peel, green apple, blackberry, cherry, plum, cantaloupe, white pear, apricot, and tangerine provide a sharp and tart malic acidity that streams down the middle of the tongue, then rises to the roof of the mouth before splashing against the back of the throat.
Light body; honey mouthfeel; malic acidity; clean finish.
the bottom line:
Mexico is a real crapshoot when it comes to finding quality coffees—for every truly exceptional coffee, you’ll find a dozen or more subpar lots. While there have only been a handful of Mexican coffees that I’ve enjoyed, there have only been maybe two or three that really impressed me. The Organic Mexico Gomez Microlot, from Kickapoo Coffee Roasters, is one of them.
Really, this is a gorgeous coffee that Kickapoo Coffee really nailed down. It’s sweet, delicate, nuanced, and and very, very satisfying.
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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.