Our Coffee

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes your coffee taste so good?

Our coffees are all sourced from the highest-quality shade-grown Coffea arabica trees, and cultivated within each region’s most dedicated farms and cooperatives. We take great care in crafting our signature blends and uncovering the roast styles that most fully express the true nature of our beans; each day, we cup our freshly roasted coffees to ensure consistency and adherence to the ideal profile we’ve determined. Instead of keeping large inventories of roasted beans as is the norm in the coffee industry, we always roast to order to help ensure the shortest period of time between the day the beans are roasted, and the day they are brewed for consumption.
Back to top

What’s so special about baristas?

While we can’t vouch for baristas in general, our baristas are rigorously trained throughout their six-week apprenticeship. They learn the chemistry and artistry behind making the perfect coffees, espressos, and specialty drinks, and also explore their own individual styles of presentation. We know that, especially these days, our guests have a choice among many coffeehouses; our passion for the coffees we create, and our baristas’ dedication to perfecting each and every drink, each and every time, is an extension of our basic philosophy of serving the community. We take great care in ensuring that our baristas know and love our coffee drinks as much as we do. To the public, they are the face of Mayorga.
Back to top

What is crema on an espresso?

The crema is a thick, reddish-brown foam that floats on the surface of a freshly poured espresso. Composed mainly of oils, proteins, and sugars, the crema is one of the primary distinguishing features of a properly brewed espresso; thick and smooth, it is where the aroma of the espresso dwells. Since the crema will begin to disappear about sixty seconds after the espresso shot has been poured, be sure to serve or drink your espresso immediately!
Back to top

How is your coffee decaffeinated?

All Mayorga Coffees are decaffeinated using the CO2 method of decaffeination unless otherwise indicated on the package; in those cases, the Swiss Water ™ method is used. In the CO2 method, raw green beans are soaked in highly compressed CO2, which serves to extract the caffeine from the beans. Then, the caffeine is removed from the CO2 using carbon filters and re-used to extract more caffeine from the coffee. This natural process effectively extracts caffeine without the use of chemicals, and it does not chemically affect the beans’ proteins or carbohydrates. All byproducts of this process are 100 percent recyclable.
Back to top

What is the best way to store coffee?

Mayorga Coffee never keeps an inventory of roasted coffee. We roast to order, and our coffee is always as fresh as coffee can be. To ensure that this freshness is translated into every cup you drink at home, be sure to buy as frequently as you need to so as to minimize the time between a batch’s roast and its consumption. Its best flavor is compromised by time, air exposure, and moisture.
Of course, you’re not going to drink an entire pound of coffee each day. For short-term storage, make sure that your coffee is either sealed TIGHTLY in its original Mayorga bag, or, even better, in a glass, air-tight jar (glass is best because it does not retain the odors of the beans or oils, which would then affect the next batch that is stored in the same jar). It is perfectly acceptable to freeze coffee, as long as your freezer isn’t damp or moist-the best environment for coffee storage is one that is cool, dark, and dry.
Back to top

What is the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffees?

As the heartier and more resilient of the two plants, Robusta coffee is generally considered to have more body and less flavor than its more highly sought-out counterpart. Arabica, which must be grown at much higher altitudes and is a more delicate plant, is almost exclusively used for high-quality specialty coffees. All Mayorga coffees are 100 percent Arabica.
Back to top

Where can I find Mayorga Coffee besides the Mayorga stores?

You can always order Mayorga Coffees online—just click here. You can also find our products at many markets and coffee shops across the country—just look for the “We serve Mayorga Coffee” sign, or call us at 877.526.3322 to find the location nearest you. And don’t forget to look for our Roadshow Brew Crew at your neighborhood market! Please click here for our Brew Crew’s schedule.
Back to top

When is the Mayorga Brew Crew going to come to my area?

Our Brew Crew is always on the go! Please click here to view the Roadshow schedule.
Back to top

What is the Rainforest Alliance and what does it have to do with your coffees?

The Rainforest Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them, by transforming land-use practices, business practices, and consumer behavior.” Participating companies, cooperatives, and landowners “meet rigorous standards that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable livelihoods” through a wide variety of projects and initiatives. For more information about Mayorga’s Rainforest Alliance–certified coffees, click here.
Back to top

Are all of your coffees shade grown?

Some East African countries operate through a government-controlled auction system. While it is not possible to verify each and every farm from which these beans originate, our constant evaluations of cup quality have given us great confidence that these coffees are, indeed, shade grown. The overwhelming majority of Mayorga coffees—approximately 95 percent—are verifiably shade grown.
Back to top

What is the Swiss Water Process?

To decaffeinate coffee using the Swiss Water Process, green beans are soaked in hot water to remove caffeine, also resulting in the removal of several compounds responsible for the coffee’s flavor. That first batch of beans is then discarded, and the caffeine is stripped from the water solution using carbon filters, leaving a solution full of flavor compounds but free of caffeine. A new batch of green coffee is then soaked in this solution, and, while the flavor compounds remain in equilibrium because of the original solution, the caffeine is once again extracted. This leaves a flavorful decaffeinated coffee. Mayorga coffees are decaffeinated using the CO2 method unless specifically marked with the Swiss Water Process symbol.
Back to top

Can I use espresso coffee for a Mr. Coffee or other regular drip machine?

You can certainly use espresso beans, but you might want to grind the beans for a drip machine (an espresso grind will likely be too fine for the drip brewer). Since espresso beans are simply a recipe (blend and roast) that a roastmaster believes is ideal for espresso, it is largely a matter of individual taste; a drip-coffee consumer might, indeed, find the espresso blend to be perfectly suited to his/her drip-brew preference.
Back to top

What is the advantage of a light-roast espresso such as your Espresso Suave? I always thought espressos were, by definition, dark roasts.

Each espresso-roast style has its advantages and disadvantages. A dark roast tends to be less “acidic” or bright, less tart, and more mellow. However, it is typically considerably more bitter. Conversely, a light-roasted espresso blend is less bitter, but more acidic, tart, and sour. Tolerance to either bitterness or acidity will dictate personal preference.
Back to top

Do you offer tours of your roasting facility?

Due to restrictions from a third-party inspector, we no longer offer tours of our roasting facility. We apologize for the inconvenience, but hope that you understand our need to adhere to food safety regulations.
Back to top

What are the hours of each location?

Please click here to view each location’s individual hours, directions, amenities, news, and event schedules.
Back to top

What are espresso beans?

Espresso is not a type of bean but rather a method of brewing coffee. Any coffee beans can be used to brew espresso. It comes down to personal preference when determining which coffee beans create your interpretation of the perfect espresso brew. Since we want to magnify all of the qualities of a coffee and intensify all flavors, we have specifically formulated our espressos to be smooth and mellow if consumed straight, but also present enough to hold up to milk. We offer two specific espresso blends which we believe are best suited to create a rich, balanced espresso brew.
Back to top

Which coffee has the most caffeine?

The caffeine levels of all Arabica coffees are fairly equivalent. Light-roasted coffees have slightly more caffeine than dark-roasted coffees, though the difference is truly minimal. Among all coffee varietals, the Sumatra beans have the highest caffeine content, but only by several tenths of a percent.
Back to top

Is coffee acidic?

“Acidity” refers to a flavor note, not to the actual acid content; coffee is relatively low in acid. Its pH averages around 5.0 to 5.1, which is more neutral than beer or any fruit juice and similar to carbonated water (which contains carbonic acid as a result of the dissolved carbon dioxide). If a vinegar/water solution were made with an equivalent pH, its acidity could not be detected by taste. Darker roasted coffees are less acidic—both in their flavor profile and in any actual acid content.
Back to top

Where did the term “cup of joe” come from?

The most popular explanation says that the expression was coined for Admiral Josephus “Joe” Daniels (1862–1948), appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson. Admiral Daniels embarked on a series of reforms, such as introducing women into the service and effectively banning alcohol on board ships, including the officer’s wine mess. This mainly left the sailors with coffee, which became referred to rather derisively as “joe,” after the admiral. This is by no means definitive; the Oxford English Dictionary places the origin of the term “joe” as it pertains to coffee as “unknown.”
Back to top

Visit Us

Whether you connect with Mayorga Coffee at one of our many retail locations or sample our coffees at a retail demonstration in your hometown, we are sure that you will find one of the finest coffees made featuring our signature roast profile modeled in the Latin-American tradition.

Retail Locations | Demos & Roadshows