Why Jaguar Forest is a Single Origin Brand

Single origin coffee is coffee from defined geographical region.  All Jaguar Forest coffee is from the “Jaguar Forest,” the forested region of the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, parts of which are sometimes known as the “Sierra Madre Occidental” or the “Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.”  Our coffees are from specific regions within the Jaguar Forest, and are not mixed or blended with coffees from other parts of Mexico, or with coffee from other countries.

Why does Jaguar Forest focus solely on single origin coffees from Mexico, when most coffee brands feature coffees from 10 or more countries? 

The best Mexican single origin coffee has a complete flavor profile, typically featuring citrus and floral top notes, and a finish of chocolate and caramel.  It already has what many coffee blends aspire to—a flavor balancing crisp acidity with depth, body, and a smooth finish.   Blending coffee often results in the flavors of one coffee stepping on the flavors of another.  A good, single origin coffee permits the true but often subtle flavors of the region to come through, without the need for those flavors to compete for flavor space with one or more other coffees in the blend.

There is enormous breadth within Mexican single origin coffees.  In the Jaguar Forest region, there are many coffee varieties and huge variation in altitude (from about 900 m to about 2000 m) at which coffee is grown.  The difference in varieties and altitude result in enormous variations in the aroma and taste of coffee, with aromas and flavors ranging from oranges to roses to mint to pecan to grape to chocolate to caramel.  By tasting the great diversity of coffees in unblended, single-origin form, it is possible to learn about and appreciate the tremendous range of coffee from the region.

Focusing on single origin organic coffees within a region of one country allows us to find the very best coffees from those areas.  It takes an enormous amount of time to get to know well even a few growing regions in one country and the many growers that work in them.  By limiting our coffee purchases to a defined geographical area, we can find the best coffees that the “Jaguar Forest” region offers.  We can also assure that our purchases have a positive effect on the farmers that grow them and the ecology of the zones from which they come.

Finally, we have a deep commitment to Mexico, to the Mexican farmers who grow our coffees, and to the forests and wildlife of the region.    Despite growing some of the best coffees in the world, and having some of the best coffee-growing regions in the world, Mexican coffees have not had the recognition they deserve on the world market.  This lack of recognition has resulted in many coffee farmers in Mexico getting low prices for their excellent coffee, barely enough to survive on.  By bringing the best Mexican coffees to U.S. consumers, we can help Mexican coffee farmers earn more, and invest more in their families and in their coffee trees.    By promoting responsible shade-grown organic coffee growing in the ecologically critical Jaguar Forest, we help maintain forest habitat for the jaguar and thousands of other endangered species.