Old Spike Coffee Roaster | Los Milagros | Mexico
Old Spike, located in Peckham, London is the UK's first Social Enterprise, Speciality Coffee Roaster.
Their focus not only on quality but also on social and environmental issues really does set them apart from the rest.
65% of their profits are used to support people affected by homelessness through a dedicated barista training academy in partnership with the Change Please Foundation.
This is an 8-week program covering practical and theory-based learning, mental health support, work readiness and financial assistance with accommodation.
"We think coffee tastes better with a hint of social purpose, we hope you do too."
All deliveries within a 5-mile radius are done on bicycle or courier. They offer refill buckets to their wholesale costumers to cut down on plastic waste. Their retail packaging is recyclable or compostable.
Old Spike pride themselves on their coffee quality, social impact and environmental sustainability. These core values are at the heart of their business and how they operate.
They take pride in their approach to sourcing speciality grade green coffee from countries of origin based on the principles of direct trade, quality and seasonality.
They are committed to establishing direct trade relationships with producers in order to ensure that they can provide a transparent price for their coffee which is well above the Fairtrade minimum.
They achieve this by exclusively purchasing all their green coffee from a handful of speciality importers in the UK who are committed to these same goals and values.
The Coffee
In a valley surrounded by the most important mountains in the state of Chiapas, sits the small town of Motozintla.
One of these important mountains is called Cerro Malé, which in indigenous dialect means “The Hill of Miracles.” The indigenous tribes believe that sick people can be healed by bathing in the water streams that run underneath.
This region, with humid climate in the mornings and dry hot afternoons, is ideal for the production of coffee. Today, Cerro Malé and the surroundings of Motozintla is home to dozens of small-scale coffee growers where organic coffee is produced.
Mexican coffee is fairly unheard of on this side of the Atlantic with the majority of the coffee heading North to the USA.
It also doesn’t produce a great deal of speciality grade coffee with most of the coffee leaving the country sold as commodity coffee.
This however may change in years to come as Mexico has a huge amount of land that is perfect for growing high-grade speciality coffee as well as a large workforce of well-established coffee-growing professionals.
With fairly high traceability, Mexican coffee can have a broad range of flavours. That said, a typical Mexican coffee is delicate and light in body.
It doesn’t usually possess the bold fruit notes to that of its Southern neighbours but instead can have a sweeter, chocolate flavour profile.
The Review
The Los Milagros starts with a milk chocolate sweetness in the fragrance. The ground coffee releases a few more stone fruity sweet notes that tee up the coffee for a delicious flavour profile.
The brew is light and clean. Aromas of candied fruit escape from the cup.
The first sip is smooth and balanced the sweetness makes it’s way into the aftertaste and leaves with brown sugar and a hint of cherries.
The acidity is fairly muted throughout and the real stars are the pleasant sugary and rich fruity numbers.
The coffee reaches room temperature and still produces the same delicious taste. A coffee that reminded me of the sort of dessert you would have on a cold Autumnal evening.
This coffee works well in any filter method. The sweet flavour notes lend themselves nicely to stovetop coffee pots and cafetiere coffee. It also extracts a delicious espresso that can hold its own when mixed with milk.
