Clou Du Mont: Vintage from Puerto Rico.

We've reported on coffee grown like wine. Soon to hit the market is a new coffee from Puerto Rico with a classification that is similar to the fruit of the vine.

Thanks to the collaboration of Garrido & Compania and the Fortuno & Seitzer Export Company on a new export project, coffee Clou du Mont will be sold yearly as a vintage coffee. The partners' goal is to sell their coffee not as a commodity, but as an exclusive product. By using terminology that is associated with the wine industry -- like labeling the bag with a vintage year -- they will be introducing an innovative way to educate the consumer about the specialty coffee experience. They believe that as of yet, specialty coffee has not taken advantage of an opportunity to teach consumers about the seasonal nature of the crop, production practices, and the importance of age and care of the trees. In response to the overproduction and subsequent price reduction, Jaime Fortuno thinks that the focus has been taken off of quality. He believes that if quality is emphasized, interest in coffee will expand; Clou du Mont is his response to the troubled times and misdirection that are being experienced in the coffee ind ustry.

Vintage Coffee?

Jaime Fortuno and Susan Seitzer introduced their concept of only cultivating the top farms in the high mountain regions to Jose "Joe" Ricci, president of Garrido, and this was where the idea for Clou du Mont was born. Like a fine wine that only uses the best grapes, Clou du Mont will only use superior tasting beans in the production of this product. Also like wine, there will not be a large quantity of this product distributed. External cupping evaluations for each lot (approximately 40 bags) will be conducted. One way that they will guarantee quality is to process the coffee using the CEPAGE Control system that Opus One (the Mondavi-Rothschild wine collaboration) made famous. This system entails keeping daily meticulous records of the varieties and their percentages which are used in preparing the lots that are used in the production of Clou du Mont. Cupping decisions will determine the specific mix that will be used in each year's mix. This information will be updated yearly to reflect the new conditions wi th the crop.

After production, the coffee will be packaged in a cigar-like box and marked with the Clou du Mont label -- including the vintage year, for example, the first crop will be Clou du Mont Vintage 2002. In addition to providing the consumer with an exceptional product, Clou du Mont is another way to bring attention to the Puerto Rican coffee industry. In promoting the new product. The first bags of the season will be distributed in Europe, North America and other markets. The company would like to make partnerships with specialty roasters to assist in the distribution of the coffee. The collaborators are hoping that this effort will be a catalyst for sharing of scientific and procedural information which could lead to new vintage coffee products from other origins.

Partners in Coffee

In addition to Fortuno & Seitzer Export Coffee, Garrido & Compania have had a pivotal role in this concept. Garrido & Compania was acquired by the Suiza Corporation in 1995. Part of this deal was acquisition of the Alto Grande Beneficio, a farm with over 162 years of coffee production where coffee is grown in high elevations. This long time commitment to the industry was a perfect place to establish this new approach to coffee.

What's in a Name?

Clou du Mont, the name alone conjures up images of Alpine villages; however, it is French and means the best or highlight of the mountain. The name is an homage to the Corsican forefathers of the Puerto Rico coffee industry who created first Golden Age of the export in the Puerto Rico coffee history (late 1800s). Fortuno thought a name that represented Puerto Rico's glorious past would help introduce a new golden age of quality coffee, especially after the decimation Hurricane Georges inflicted on the Puerto Rican coffee industry. Zayda Goyco of Garrido came up with the name. In addition to the name, Clou du Mont's logo is a palm tree in an abstract coffee bean shape. This distinctive label will help the consumer with brand recognition.

Above all, Jaime Fortuno wants the specialty coffee industry to educate its consumers and gain the respect that the wine industry receives.