Puro Fair Trade Coffee- A Product Review

 

Hi All!

Those who have known me over the years and also my relatives would be surprised to see a review of coffee in my blog and might wonder whether my habits have changed. So just to reconfirm, I’m still a teetotaller and the only reason I’m reviewing this product is as ‘it’s a coffee with a cause; the cause of protecting the rain forests’. So, to inculcate a conscious, nature driven consumerism amongst my readers, I’m here with the review, as coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world and consuming Puro can bring in a change of conserving nature.

Why Puro Coffee?

We all love our Mother Earth and in our small ways we try to help protect it, whether it’s through saving electricity and water or it could be through planting trees. When Tamara of Puro Fair Trade Coffee approached me to ask whether I would like to review their products, I got instantly attracted to them for a few more reasons: i) It’s a  Fair Trade Coffee ii) They are actively working along with World Land Trust which is a UK based land charity, whose patron is Sir David Attenborough (I hope you would remember the famous movie Gandhi, it was directed by Richard Attenborough who happens to be  Sir David Attenborough’s brother) iii) It’s a shade grown Coffee and it also happens to be an Organic Coffee. One can read more about these qualities here.

Saving Rainforests

With the help of World Land Trust, Puro is trying to buy and protect rainforests. For every cup of coffee sold, money is given to buy and protect areas of rainforest in South America. Till date, they have saved over 5,600 acres (approximately 6,000 football fields) of rainforest across 3 Puro reserves in Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia. The details of which can be read here.

In 2007 whilst some of the Puro Fairtrade Coffee team was trekking through the Puro Ecuadorian Rainforest Reserve, some new species of orchid were discovered. One of these orchids was later named after Puro. Also, one new frog species – all previously unknown to science – has been recorded within the Puro reserve. Located within Chocó, Colombia. The 124 acre Puro Poison Frog Reserve is the only protected location in the world for the critically endangered and close to extinct Golden Poison Frog. Indigenous tribes still use their poison on their arrows and spears for hunting.

In 2008, together with Sir David Attenborough, Puro launched a webcam in the rainforest to the media.

The Making Of Puro Coffee & Availability

The Puro Coffee is roasted, blended and packed by Miko since 2005. Miko is a company in Belgium, that has been roasting coffee since 1801. Using Miko’s 213 years of industry knowledge and expertise, Puro has become one of the first coffee brands in the world to challenge the misconception that Fair trade coffee is poorer in quality and taste as compared to it’s counterparts. Miko has 9000m2 of solar panels on the roof of their building to generate their own electricity. Miko has won a business charity award last year for the partnership between Puro Fairtrade Coffee and World Land Trust (Puro has gone on to help judge the 2013 Business Charity Awards)

Puro coffee is currently available in beans, ground and pouch pack across 3 blends and comes packed in 250g and 1kg bags. The three blends are:

1. Puro Organic: This coffee which has 100% Finest Arabica has it’s origins in Peru and Honduras. This coffee has a  distinct  flavour and it combines beautifully soft notes of chocolate with citric over tones that gives it a fruitiness whilst adding natural sweetness.

2. Puro Noble: This coffee is made with 80% Finest Arabica and 20% Premium Robusta and has it’s origins from Peru, Guatemala, Uganda and Honduras. This coffee yields a perfect balance of flavour. It is rich and lively,medium roast with hints of fruit and hazelnut. Pro Noble Decaf is also available.

3. Puro Fuerte: This coffee is made with 50% Finest Arabica and 50% Premium Robusta and like Puro Noble, also has it’s origins from Peru, Guatemala, Uganda and Honduras. It  is a fragrant full body dark roast coffee with a touch of spice.

A large number of the coffee drinking readers might not have heard of this coffee before as PURO doesn’t have their own cafes and one won’t find this coffee for sale in supermarkets too. Puro supply’s  some of the UK’s leading chains of cafes and restaurants, such as National Trust, Le Pain Quotidien, Leon, and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, amongst many others. They are widely available in mainland Europe, Africa, Australasia and recently in Canada, and are currently looking for a US distributor. They also have an online shop https://www.puroathome.com/. Other than the three blends of coffee, Puro also offers other products. They have tea, fruit teas, hot chocolate; ancillaries like brown and white sugar sticks, creamer, biscuits and vending machine ingredients.. 

 

Arabica Vs Robusta

 

Robusta Plant

For those who are not aware of the names Arabica and Robusta, I must tell them these are the names of coffee beans. The two varieties differ in taste, colour, growing conditions and price. Arabica beans tends to have higher acidity with a sweeter, softer taste and an intense aroma. It contains on an average about half of the caffeine of Robusta. Robusta is characterized by a stronger woody and earthy flavours, with low acidity and pea-nutty aftertaste. They are generally considered to be of inferior quality as compared to Arabica, however, they are easier to grow. They can grow at lower altitudes than Arabica, and they are less vulnerable to pests and weather conditions. They produce fruit much more quickly than the Arabica, which need several years to come to maturity, and they yield more crop per tree making them cheaper in price than the Arabica.

The Puro Experience

I was sent an eco-friendly, neatly packed gunny bag filled with the three blends of coffee of 250g each. Other than that, there were a few sugar sachets, a hot chocolate sachet and a Puro coffee mug. There was also a hand written note from Tamara. All the coffee blends had hand written tags on them providing a clear description.

I opened all the coffee blends and brewed each of them separately and sampled them together to understand the difference in their tastes. My husband loved Puro Fuerte the most as he loves strong coffee and the higher content of Robusta yielded that flavour,this blend would suit the Indian palate. Though I’m not a coffee drinker, I love it’s aroma and I do use my coffee in making desserts. The only way I have ever tasted coffee is either a frappe or my favourite dessert Tiramisu.  Personally, I liked the Puro Noble and Organic for their milder strength and subtleness.

The kid loved the hot chocolate and  was disappointed that only one complimentary sachet was sent..

 

As I said earlier, that my coffee indulgence is restricted only to the frappe (cold coffee) and desserts but my husband loves his Americano and my MIL loves her filter coffee. So we used our Expresso/ Cappucino maker to brew the coffee as per our taste requirements and then used the coffee decoction to prepare our own versions. I used around 6ounces of water to brew  one heaped tablespoon of coffee bean powder. My MIL uses Puro Noble to make her filter coffee and relishes it every morning. My husband continues to use Puro Fuerte to make the Americano (black coffee) but he would make a decoction of medium strength and as for me, I made the frappe using a strong decoction of Puro Organic, blended with cream, milk, sugar and ice and  loved it to the core, it had an amazing aroma.

  

  

My family is loving the various blends of the coffee as it has a fine taste and aroma that a good quality, organic coffee offers and every time we have consumed it, there is a satisfaction in our hearts, that some place, some where on this Earth some more trees are getting saved through PURO.

I would request my readers to join the cause and help save more rainforests by drinking Puro Coffee. Once again for your information, you can buy Puro online at https://www.puroathome.com/.