Whether using the avalanche technique to improve the taste of ice cream or oenology to produce coffee, Nestlé does its best to improve its products quality and taste. The company has developed a new technique to produce its premium portioned coffee brand Nespresso. The technique a similar to that used to produce wine, which means that select Colombian Castillo coffee bean, so called ‘cherries’ are left to mature on the plant until the last possible moment.

Photo: Colombian Castillo coffee beans, from www.nestle-nespresso.com

The ‘late harvest’ technique allows creating a specific distinct taste of Nespresso’s new limited edition Grand Cru coffee Naora. The  technique demands preciseness and control of growing conditions, because even a few days oа delay can affect the taste of the coffee.

The technique is based on oenology, the study of wine and Nespresso has collaborated with the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers to develop it.

Not each sort of coffee is able to over ripen while still growing on the coffee plant but Colombian Castillo coffee cherries is that special kind of coffee that can stay on the plant and absorb the maximum amount of nutrients that results in its distinctive blackcurrant and blueberry taste and intense aroma. As other limited edition Nespresso’s coffees, Naora will only be available for a short period of time.

Nespresso has its own Coffee Codex that provides international chefs and sommeliers with the information they need to match individual coffees with gourmet cuisine. The Codex describes the whole process of coffee production, from bean to cup, as well as the art of coffee tasting and matching it with other food and beverages.

“We applied the vocabulary of wine tasting to the art of tasting coffee,” explained Giuseppe Vaccarini, co-author of the Codex and leading member of the Association International of Sommeliers.

“Not only does it reflect the parallels between the two fields, it also enables the sommelier to effectively identify and describe the characteristics of coffee needed to make ideal pairings with other food and beverages,” he added.