Mild Coffees_

Among the Mild coffees there is a much greater variation in
characteristics than is found among the Brazilian growths. This is due
to the differences in climate, altitude, and soil, as well as in the
cultural, processing, storage, and transportation methods employed in
the widely separated countries in which Milds are produced.

Mild coffees generally have more body, more acidity, and a much finer
aroma than Brazils; and from the standpoint of quality they are far more
desirable in the cup. As a rule they have also better appearance, or
"style", both in the green and in the roast, due to the fact that
greater care is exercised in picking and preparing the higher grades.
Milds are important for blending purposes, most of them possessing
distinctive individual characteristics, which increase their value as
blending coffees.

_Not All Coffees Improve with Age_

Although it has long been held that green coffee improves with age, and
there is little doubt that this is true in so far as roasting merits are
concerned; the question has been raised among coffee experts as to
whether age improves the drinking qualities of all coffees alike.

Rio coffees should improve with age, as they are naturally strong and
earthy. Age might be expected to soften and to mellow them and others
having like characteristics. If, however, the coffee is mild in cup
quality in the first instance, then it may be asked if age does not
weaken it so that in time it must become quite insipid. Several years
ago, a New York coffee expert pointed out that this was what happened to
Santos coffees. The new crop, he said, was always a more pleasant and
enjoyable drink than the old crop, because it was a more pronounced mild
coffee in the cup.

MEXICANS. Considering those coffees grown nearest the American market
first, we come to the coffees of Mexico. All coffees grown in this
republic are known as Mexicans. They are further divided according to
the states and districts in which they are produced, and as to whether
they are prepared according to the wet or the dry method. The types best
known in the American market are Coatepec, Huatusco, Orizaba, Cordoba,
Oaxaca, and Jalapa. The lesser known are the Uruapan, Michoacan, Colima,
Chiapas, Triunfo, Tapachula, Sierra, Tabasco, Tampico, and
Coatzacoalcos. Some of these are rarely seen in the markets of the
United States.

The coffee most cultivated in Mexico is supposed to have come from Mo