“Generally, coffees from Central America are washed coffees, and sun dried on raised tables or on patios, which creates a profile that is very clean with bright acidity,” says Crema’s owner Geoff Polci, who used to live in the region. A lot of coffee in this region, which includes Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama, are grown in the shade of pre-existing banana and citrus trees, and whether as a direct result of through biochemical coincidence, the coffee tends to have a lot of fruity notes, including banana, pineapple and citrus.
The standard Central American coffee, according to Polci, evinces “gentle citrus with a chocolatey-nutty flavour. They’re normally balanced, clean and mild.”
But each country has its own character, which is influenced here more to a greater than average extent by reasons other than soil and climate. El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua all had their coffee industries disrupted by political troubles, and Honduras had a series of natural disasters that decimated its ability to produce. The best coffee from the region is generally considered to be Guatemalan, with the Costa Rican crops taking a close second as a popular favourite. But as industry habits change, with more growers and distributors aiming at the higher end of the market, these countries of small producers are in a good position to cultivate any number of new flavour nuances.
I’ve only ever had Crema’s baked goods (the cookies are fabulous!) but reading this blog has me rethinking my regular Friday morning vanilla latte from Starbucks! I think I’m going to have to change up my routine next week
If you are looking for a cup of coffee, latte, mocha, etc. that won’t disappoint, then you’ve come to the right place. And they opened a new location about a block from my house! How awesome is that?