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One hundred years ago Venezuela was a great producer of coffee, most of the country's income came from the exportation of this product. Our coffee was well known and highly valued in many European countries.
But so far in the XXI century things have not been going very well for our coffee. Production has dropped and exports have almost disappeared.
However, a few years ago measures have started to be taken to change things and give a new impulse to coffee production.
One of the things that have been done to achieve this objective is to grant quality certificates to some coffee brands. A group of experts make periodic evaluations and those brands that comply with the requirements receive the "Gourmet" certification, in this way seeking to encourage all producers to reach this level of quality.
I recently proposed to my wife that we start trying these brands, other than the one we use frequently. We were curious to know if those that carry the "Gourmet" denomination are really better than the rest.
Since our intention was to try the new brand, we decided to buy a small package of only 200 grams of "La Protectora" coffee. Its price is similar to what we frequently buy, at the time of purchase the supermarket had it at one dollar and twenty cents.
For my evaluation I have taken into account some personal criteria. The first is the yield. For us, it is important that the coffee we use is yielding. My wife usually drinks several cups of coffee a day and we spend almost half a kilo a week.
We prepared this coffee in the usual way, pouring two measures of the ones that come with the cans of infant milk into the six-cup coffee maker. The result was very positive, the coffee had enough body, we felt a good flavor that impregnated the whole palate; it was a bit stronger, so my wife added hot water to soften it. My conclusion is that this coffee "La Protectora" is quite good.
Another test that we did was taught to me by a Barista friend of mine, it consists of tasting the coffee when it is hot and then cold.
For this test I filled the cup with coffee, without sugar so as not to alter its flavor. Then I drank half of it while it was hot, let it cool down to room temperature, and after about ten minutes I tasted it again. The coffee tasted the same and there was no change in its acidity. In poor quality coffees there is a noticeable change in acidity if tasted cold. This test confirmed that the coffee was of good quality.
Finally my wife and I did another test where we compared it with our usual coffee. We prepared both coffees in the same way, poured a cup of each, hot and without sugar, and tasted them simultaneously.
We had never done this test before, it was the first time we were consciously comparing coffee. The result was quite satisfactory, we noticed a very subtle but pleasant difference. The new coffee was a little less bitter and left a certain fruity flavor. We found it to be an excellent coffee with enough quality to recommend it to friends.
It is likely that if you are in Venezuela you will find this coffee "La Protector" in any supermarket. If it is not the one you use dare to give it a try, you might like it. Just make sure that the packaging clearly states "gourmet quality".
Thanks for your time.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version).
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