Flavours of Percol
Our Roast and Ground Origin Coffees
In 'wine-making' the French call the situation of soil, climate and plant variety the "Terroir". The same applies in coffee growing and the Terroir is held solely responsible for the character of the beans and ultimately the flavour of the resulting coffee. There is of course the impact of the coffee-maker to consider the blending, roasting and handling of the beans which contribute to the overall taste and how it is packed to conserve quality. But it is the origin, this Terroir which lays the foundation for great tasting coffee.
Nicolas Bertrand, Head Sommelier, MJU restaurant, Knightsbridge says "For me the most important factor in coffee making is the climate. The climate dictates the personality and characteristics of the coffee bean by creating eco-systems in the soil and in the air. The variety of plant will then react uniquely in these surroundings a different effect for every different plant in every different climate. There is much potential for exploring a vast array of tastes and flavours."
Geography plays a crucial part in determining climate. The higher a coffee bean is grown the more delicacy is passed to the bean, no doubt, instilled by thinner air and more extreme temperatures. Misty places, frequent in verdant farmed and forested hillsides will have a higher humidity. Coffee beans grown in humid conditions take longer to mature as flavour remains locked-in by increased water in the atmosphere.
Arabica coffee beans must be grown between 1000 and 2000m above sea level. Percol coffee comes from over 1300m and some up to 2000m. The best tastes are created by the coffee plants' struggle for survival. Fruits, wines, beans in fact all species develop the best taste when they have to survive in difficult conditions. It has to become the best bean in order to survive at altitude, in conditions, as in Central America where hillsides are open to the elements of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
At Percol we have taken twenty years of traveling and tasting to bring you the finest range of coffees we could discover. Click on the map to explore the Percol range.
Guatemala
You can wander through the shady terraces contouring the Guatemalan hillsides for hours. Since coffee was first farmed here in the 1850s the country has seen much change in town and village, but what remains a constant is the delicate and refined aroma of its coffee, the wonderfully seductive flavour with overtones of dark chocolate.
Guatemala is the heartland of the Mayan empire. Most Arabica coffee beans are grown up on the Sierra Madre mountains which roll down into the Pacific Ocean. Up amongst these peaks lie the most wonderful ruins of the ancient world, the Mayan City of Tikal, where monkeys serenade in front of the backdrop of the highest active volcanoes in Central America. The soil and the climate mix with the countries history to create a substantial coffee of with strong pride which can be compared to a great wine.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Organic Guatemala Ground Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
| Percol Fairtrade Organic Guatemala Ground Coffee Arabica | 3 | 57 (8 cup sachet) | £0.99 - £1.19 |
Honduras
Honduras is world famous for its bananas and it is underneath the safe shade of the banana trees that Honduran Arabica beans are grown in altitude, shaded from the elements. Percol Fairtrade Honduras coffee has a sweet fruity aroma with chocolate notes on the finish. The coffee is extremely well balanced with good acidity and body.
Facing out into the Caribbean sea Honduras experiences a lot of rain. It is hot and humid almost year-round and temperatures vary by altitude rather than by season. The average high temperature nationwide is 32C (90F) and the average low is 20C (68F). Temperatures are coldest up in the mountain areas where coffee is grown and it is these extremes which create the full bodied flavour of the coffee beans. Honduras combines the extreme heights of La Tigra National Park (2270m) where you'll experience lush cloud forests home to ocelots, pumas, monkeys, quetzal and coffee, with white sandy beaches lapped by by the Caribbean Sea and home to leather-backed turtles.
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The co-operative farms where Percol Fair Trade coffee comes from are providing an economic platform for sustainable growth and development for farmers and their families.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Honduras Ground Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
Nicaragua
Percol Fairtrade Nicaragua coffee has a very specific uniquely individual taste, not surprising as the product of this fascinating country. The coffee has a very bold, serious flavour with notes of bittersweet chocolate and orange marmalade with an acidity to match.
Nicaragua is hot with an average temperature of 82 F year round. Humidity averages around 75% and there are only two seasons - rainy and dry. Almost all days year round begin sunny on the Pacific with short rain spells coming in the afternoon and night. The hottest time of year is from February to May, when temperatures often reach towards 100F and days can be very windy. The pacific region experiences the longest dry season which becomes progressively shorter as you head east towards the Caribbean.
It is the largest yet most sparsely populated of the Central American nations. It is flanked by the waters of both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean as well as its own internal sea, Lake Nicaragua. Lake Nicaragua is alive with extreme natural elements. It contains two volcanoes, 310 islands, its own weather system and the very rare fresh water shark and the beautiful Roseate Spoonbill.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Nicaragua Ground Coffee, Arabica | 4 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
Colombia
From sea level at the Pacific Ocean to its highest point Pico Cristobal Colon at 5,775 m and lying at the gateway to South America Colombia is a land of extremes. With over 130 000 species and two huge and opposing coastlines facing both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the country's rainforests are routinely doused in terrific rains. It makes for a tantalizingly rich coffee which embodies the history of a land steeped in coffee.
The aroma is full bodied but a subtle hint of nuts and the complex flavours create a smooth multi-layered coffee with attractive citrus notes on the finish. Coffee runs through the veins of the people in the capital Bogota where fast paced Latin life fuses futuristic buildings with old colonial with the aroma of coffee on every corner.
In extremely high regions of Colombia the landscape becomes sparse yet abundant in views. It's an understated beauty, much like Percol's decaffeinated Colombia. With the caffeine taken out what remains is a rich coffee with a hint of nuts, so good you wouldn't even know it was decaffeinated. The complex flavours create a smooth, full-bodied coffee with attractive citrus notes on the finish. So good you would never know it's decaf.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Colombia Ground Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 57 (8-cup Sachets) | £0.99 - £1.19 |
| Percol Fairtrade Colombia Ground Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
| Percol Fairtrade Decaffeinated Colombia Ground Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 250 | £2.79 - £3.29 |
| Percol Fairtrade Colombia Instant Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 100 | £2.55 - £2.99 |
| Percol Rainforest Organic Colombia Instant Coffee | 3 | 100 | £2.79 - £3.29 |
Latin America
Percol has drawn on the exotic character of Latin America to create an original blend truly unique in flavour. From the Equator to the Tropic of Cancer, from the Pacific to Atlantic, from the Sierra Madre to Andes local farmers have produced high quality Arabica coffee beans for around 300 years.
Carefully selected beans have been blended by Percol's experts to create a coffee with a complex range of inter-woven flavours and aromas; treacle toffee, cocoa, liquorice and grapefruit deliver a well-balanced coffee full of character.
Using beans from plants which have grown in the most exotic places increases the flavour and quality of the blend. To survive out here plant roots must go deep to find nourishment and the beans produced must be packed with flavour as only the best can survive.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Organic Latin America Ground Coffee, Arabica | 3 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
Americano
From the shaded farms of Central America to the bustling pavements of New York City, coffee is an experience that is taken seriously all over the Americas. Percol's Americano blend pitches the finest Arabica coffee beans to produce coffee with an edge, a robust flavour - dark, full and very upfront just the way New Yorkers like it. The flavours are of bitter chocolate and hazelnut with a smooth and rounded finish. Drink short or long, lazily at home or on the run.
The blend is made from beans grown in exotic locations at heights over 1200 metres. Coffee plants grown at this height need to produce the highest quality Arabica beans in order to survive.
Just as grapes grown by water will be full of water with little taste, Arabica beans grown at altitude in an environment where they can only just survive will be full of flavour and goodness spurred on by their desire to survive.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Organic Americano Ground Coffee, Arabica | 4 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
| Percol Instant Americano Coffee | 3 | 100 | £2.69 - £2.99 |
Mexico
The Mexicans themselves consume over half the coffee produced in their country. Forget visions of a wild west Mexico. Bordered by the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico the reality finds fertile hillsides abound where the Sierra Madre begin and the lush valleys of Oaxaca provide ample opportunity the finest grade of Mexican coffee. On the opposite side as Mexico thins heading for Latin America fine grade 'altura' grows in the mountainous regions.
The result is an effusive array of delicate flavours in this mild yet fragrant coffee. Floral and honey notes combined with undertones of dried fruits and figs may be detected in the finish.
The typical fine Mexico coffee is like a good light white wine delicate in body, with a pleasantly dry, acidy snap. If you drink your coffee black and prefer a light, acidy cup, you will like these typical Mexico specialty coffees. However, some Mexico coffees, particularly those from high growing regions in Chiapas, rival the best Guatemalan coffees in high-grown power and complexity.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Rainforest Organic Mexico Ground Coffee | 2 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
Espresso
Making the perfect Espresso blend takes much skill. A unique blend must allow each flavour to express itself fully, but in harmony with the other flavours, not overriding or jarring against the other. A perfect complement of flavours must be created to produce a truly unique blend famous for its versatility, flavour and flexibility.
Percol's Espresso is a unique blend of Latin American Arabica beans specially selected to perform as only the best espresso can. The result is a truly creamy and versatile blend which works with milk in a Cappuccino or Latte but which also works intensely on its own. Percol Epresso is both intense and assertive. It's an attractive bitterness with hints of cream and exotic fruit.
| Product | Strength | Weight (g) | RRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percol Fairtrade Organic Espresso Ground Coffee, Arabica | 5 | 250 | £2.49 - £2.99 |
| Percol Instant Espresso Coffee | 5 | 100 | £2.69 - £2.99 |
