Mexico Organic Royal Select Water Decaf

This mountain water processed decaf is sweet, a little nutty, with dark chocolate tones and a clean mouthfeel and finish.

Arrival Date: April 15th, 2016

Acidity & Brightness:  Moderate acidity.

Balance & Finish: Delicate with clean dry finish

Body & Texture: Medium body, fairly short nutty finish.

Flavors: Dark chocolate and brown sugar

Grade: H/G (High Grown), moderatly hard and dense

Certifications: Organic, Fair Trade

Processing: Fully Washed and then decaffeinated using Mountain Water Process

Roasting: Start with a Full City (Medium), or just a few snaps into the second crack. If you can't hear the cracks, then roast until the beans are smooth and medium dark brown with just the first hint of sheen as the oil emerges. This coffee roasts very evenly.

Our Review:

Coffee has a way of making you humble.  Just when you think you're getting to be an "expert", and just when you've finally got all these "rules" about how coffee should always be processed, and how it should always be roasted, brewed and served, along comes a coffee that thumbs its proverbial nose at you.  And that's what this Royal Select Water Processed (or mountain water processed) Decaf from Chiapas, Mexico has done to us.  The mountain water processed decaf method is a fairly recent innovation that has quickly become our preferred decaffeination method that yields the best flavor.

Being both organic and Fair Trade means that the environment, the farmer, and his community have benefited from the production of this coffee.  The farmer got a fair price, and the environment wasn't loaded down with pesticides and chemical fertilizers.  Because a fair price was paid, local improvements in schools, medical care, and infrastructure can be made.  But frankly all this comes to naught if the coffee doesn't hold up in the cup--that's where the reputation and the demand will be forged, and that will determine the future of the growers.  Starting with a superior coffee is the secret.  A lot of decafs start with lower grades, but Royal Coffee chose only the best.  Infinite care in processing, transporting and storing all along the line results in a coffee with a more complex flavor than a lot of Mexican coffee.  It is grown very close to the Guatemalan Huehuetenango area and shares many of the same characteristics.  It is medium bodied, with excellent aromatics.  The flavor is sweet, and tends to be a little nutty.  It's full of dark chocolate tones, with a medium acidity, and not the slightest hint of that "decaf" taste.  A very humbling coffee.