Puerto Rico blonde coffee is hard to find, and thus if you see it – grab it and try it as you just never know when you will find it next.
While blonde coffee is, in the simplest of terms, a light roast by another name. I’m absolutely encouraging you to try Puerto Rican light roasted coffee as it is a rarity, and it is rather delightfully tasty.
Appealing to the helper in you, we at Latte Love Brew would love to hear from you if you know of more blonde roasted coffee beans from Puerto Rico so we can try them, review them and genuinely help coffee lovers to enjoy that rather hard to come by coffee!
What Is Blonde Coffee?
Blonde roast is a terminology that has been made popular by the coffee conglomerate Starbucks, but it is a roast profile that has been a round much longer than the world’s most popular coffee company. A blonde roast, once upon a time as coffee aficionados will tell you, was once known as a cinnamon roast.
The term “cinnamon roast” is in reference to the light brown color and not the flavor produced by the roast profile.
The name gradually changed as some coffee fans were expecting a cinnamon flavor.
Now, today and thanks to the third wave of coffee there is a wide variation in what is defined as a blonde roast, much greater than what is defined as a light roast.
Starbucks, as a fine example, what they call a blonde roast is actually much closer to a light-medium roast than a light roast itself.
For all intents and purposes a blonde roast is exactly the same as a light roast. They have a higher acidity than a darker roast with a much lighter body.
So, what is a Puerto Rican blonde coffee?
It is of course a light roasted coffee from the island nation of Puerto Rico.
Read: Coffee brands of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Blonde Coffee To Try Today!
Most of the coffee that you will find in Puerto Rico is of a medium, medium-dark or a dark roast. Light roasts are usually hard to find. Thankfully I have dug around and found some that are worth trying.
#1 Café Bello – Our Top Choice.
Whole Bean Or Pre-Ground: Ground Or Whole Bean.
Roast profile: Light Roast.
Certifications: None.
Flavor Notes: Sweet, floral, with hints of cedar, honey and orange.
This coffee is light, sweet with tones of lilac flowers with hints of honey, cedar and orange. The lightly acidic, soft tones and with an astringent grassy finish. Curious hints of cocoa. It is a coffee to come back to again and again.
Read: Puerto Rico coffee roasters
#2 Julian Coffee – Runner Up.
Whole Bean Or Pre-Ground: Ground Or Whole Bean.
Roast profile: Light Roast.
Certifications: None.
Flavor Notes: Mild, balanced and hints of chocolate.
Julian coffee is dedicated to sustainability and employs eco-friendly practices to the point of using biodegradable coffee bags. The coffee farmers in Adjuntas look for and hand-pick only the ripest of coffee cherries.
Further kudos is they pay their workers fair US salary.
As for their coffee, it is balanced, mild and very enjoyable when you drink it black. If you are considering switching to black coffee, Julian coffee is a great starting point. It tastes sweet, very smooth and has notes of chocolate and works fantastic as great as a cold brew too.
Puerto Rican light roast coffee is hard to find. If you know of and have tried light roasted coffee from Puerto Rico it is appreciated that you point us in the right direction, so we can improve upon this list and help other coffee lovers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Puerto Rico Blonde Coffee
What Is Puerto Rican Style Coffee?
Puerto Ricans love to have their coffee in a few methods.
- Black Coffee. This is self-explanatory. It is black coffee with no milk or sugar. Good quality Puerto Rican coffee beans can make drinking black coffee a great choice, and perhaps a better way to enjoy the unique flavor and tones.
- Café Con Leche (Latte): Traditionally made in a saucepan simmering the water, adding the coffee and filtering through a coffee sock and then adding the coffee to a simmering milk and adding a teaspoon of sugar is the traditional way of making a café con leche Puerto Rican style!
- Cappuccino: Similar to the way Puerto Ricans love a latte but is made with frothed milk and a shot of espresso. It is more common for a Puerto Rican to enjoy a bone dry cappuccino than a wet cappuccino.
- Pocillo: The localised name for a shot of espresso.
- Cortadito: A Spanish cortado, a shot of espresso with a dash of steamed milk added.
Is Puerto Rico Coffee Strong?
Yes, all the major coffee brands from Puerto Rico that I have tried are rich, sweet, full-bodies and strong in both terms of a caffeinated kick and strong in terms of flavor. There is also a very noticeable coffee aroma from the bean when they are fresh and unbrewed and from your brewed coffee. Also, they are low in acidity.
How Do Puerto Ricans Make Their Coffee?
Most common for homemade coffee Puerto Rican nationals make their coffee by boiling one cup of water per cup of coffee in a saucepan until the water simmers. Then add in a tablespoon of coffee per cup of coffee made, stir well and simmer for a minute while stirring the coffee grounds. The coffee and water mix is then filtered via a cotton coffee sock which is then returned to the saucepan.
A quarter of a cup of milk per cup of coffee with a teaspoon of sugar is added to a second saucepan and then taken to the simmering point. The milk and sugar mix is stirred until all is dissolved. The coffee and milk are then poured into an awaiting mug and then enjoyed.
What Is The Most Popular Coffee In Puerto Rico?
The most popular coffees in Puerto Rico are Café Lareno, Alto Grande, Yaucono and Café Don Ruiz which is some kind of an uber fancy up market gourmet coffee.
Final Thoughts, Frappé-Ing It All Up, Puerto Rico Blonde Coffee
Puerto Rico blonde coffee is great, and unfortunately it is very rare. We could only find a grand total of two brands that sold light roast coffee from Puerto Rico – that is how rare it is. If you see it, try it. You will probably enjoy it.
Derek Marshall
Coffee is love, it's more than love — it's a passion of mine. I've had the luck to have travelled and enjoyed the most exotic of coffee's and unique flavors, brewing methods and techniques of making the perfect coffee from Thai hill tribe coffee to Indonesian volcanic coffee, Malaysian coffee that comes in a tea bag and the array of flavors in Vietnam, from Vanilla to Orange to Coconut to Avocado to even salt coffee and the famous egg coffee. The best part of my coffee adventures is getting to mix with the locals over a nice brew and learning how they make it! I'm cited and referenced on Google Scholar for the topic of coffee.
