Legend has it that during the reign of a great Spanish emperor, rumours were rise about the existence of an exquisite and aromatic coffee which was reputed to be of a uniqueness hitherto unknown.

The emperor, in his enthusiasm to savour a beverage of such excellent renown, entrusted the search to his most trusted admiral, who immediately set off on a long voyage taking in all the countries which were home to the world's finest coffees: Colombia, Brazil, The Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, Ethiopia, Kenya and Puerto Rico.

Having sampled all the single-origin coffees he could find, the unique taste described in the Emperor's notes still remained elusive. Wearied and disappointed by the arduous search, and ultimately convinced that the rumours were nothing more than the product of fabrication, he gathered together all the samples and deposited them in the very same chest in which he had stored his own coffee supplies and set sail on the homeward journey back to the palace.

During the voyage a storm strongly buffeted the ship which resulted in the mixing of some of the single-origin coffees in the chest. With his ship on the verge of going under, the admiral decided to sample that strange concoction and on relishing its delightful taste, he judiciously locked the chest and sealed it tightly shut. As his battered vessel succumbed to the power of the waves, the admiral hurriedly scratched out a message on the lid before casting the chest overboard.
Days later the chest arrived at the imperial palace. The Emperor, on sampling the contents within, paid glowing homage to the highly successful final voyage of Admiral Oquendo, who had baptised that excellent blend of coffee as:

"Gran Reserva: selection of the finest single-origin Arabica coffees boasting a taste of exceptional distinction"