DISCOVERY

Costa Rica

Both of this month’s coffees are from Costa Rica, grown on the slopes of a long mountainous spine that runs through the capital San José. The rich volcanic soils and high altitude in the Talamanca Sierra lead to excellent conditions for producing high quality coffees. Costa Rican producers are also motivated and able to capitalise on the quality raw material they have access to. The specialty industry here is very developed, there are many avenues of access to market for producers, and the ‘micro-mill revolution’ has empowered producers, diversifying their offering with a plethora of varietals and processes. This leads to a varying palette of flavour profiles across the country, from skilled producers growing different varietals with different approaches and an appetite for experimentation.

This month’s coffees are excellent examples of the raw material being produced in the Tarrazu area. The Oviedo family, just north of San José in Grecia, have planted several high quality varietals on their land since building the Don Joel mill. Their preference for clean character in the cup has led to this crisp ad bright washed SL28 lot. The Umaña family, further south in Tarrazu, worked for years to afford to build their La Roca mill. This is the sixth time we have purchased this fresh yet deeply sweet honey Catuai.

We buy coffees from a long spine of Costa Rica, running through the country’s capital San Jose. This spine is famous for high quality coffee production the world over, resulting in high prices for farmers. One of the reasons for this is plentiful high altitude, the Talamanca Sierra runs through the region, with peaks of above 3000 masl. This spine is split into 3 regions, the West Valley and Central Valley to the north of San Jose, and Tarrazu to the south. In all of these areas, but especially in Tarrazu, agriculture and coffee growing is a main employer, vital to the economy. In fact, the population of Tarrazu is multiplied by three during harvest season, when workers flock to the region for the high wages paid to skilled pickers. The entire spine is mainly of volcanic origin, helping to provide fertile soils conducive to the production of consistently high scoring coffees, which we keep going back for.

Costa Rican producers are also motivated and able to capitalise on the quality raw material they have access to. The specialty industry here is very developed, there are many avenues of access to market for producers, and the ‘micro-mill revolution’ has empowered producers, diversifying their offering with a plethora of varietals and processes. Producing their own finished product, rather than delivering cherry to local buyers, shortens their value chain, transferring more value back to them, and allowing them more direct access to market. The producers here are mainly rather small and agile, allowing them to serve the needs of the market each year through partnerships with buyers. This leads to a varying palette of flavour profiles across the country, from skilled producers growing different varietals with different approaches and an appetite for experimentation together with their partners.

2023 marks the tenth year we have worked with our Costa Rican export partners at Exclusive Coffees, and the producers they have connected us with just keep on delivering excellent and transparent coffee experiences.

Don Joel

Allan Oviedo is a second generation coffee producer, inheriting his land from his father Joel Oviedo around 20 years ago. Joel’s land was split in two, with half going to Allan, and half to his brother, Allan’s uncle. Initially, he was selling coffee cherry to a local mill, receiving a very low market price. This meant he had to take shifts as a taxi driver in San Jose to make ends meet, saving money to reinvest into the farm. Allan made many changes on the farm, aiming to improve quality of life for his family. Like many in Costa Rica during this time, Allan’s aim was to process his own coffee, constructing a micromill. He eventually accomplished this, naming his mill for his father, Don Joel. Allan has heavily invested in quality since, winning several awards in the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence, including a 29th place in 2017, 18th in 2021, 15th in 2022, and a 25th in this year’s competition. This year’s placing was with a washed SL28 varietal, the same as the lot we are releasing now. This success has allowed Allan to continue to invest, even purchasing the rest of his father’s land back from his uncle and planting more Villa Sarchi, Typica and SL28. Allan’s continuing success is a testament to his methodic and detail-focussed approach, allowing him to continue to increase the quality of the coffee he produces, as seen in his consistent placings in the Cup of Excellence.

This year, many of Allan’s lots ended top of our rounds of cupping together with our partners from Exclusive Coffees in Costa Rica. We met and cupped together with Allan and his family at the Exclusive lab in San José, and were impressed by his professionalism, and of course by the quality of the coffees. This lot, a washed process SL28 varietal, stood out for its rich sweetness and depth of flavour, lifted by a crisp and juicy acidity. The flavours we find are driven by the varietal, reminiscent of the Kenyan profile, with crisp red berries and a molasses sweetness.

The Umaña Family

This is our fifth year purchasing from the La Roca micro-mill, located in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, at 1900 masl. The mill is run by the three Umaña brothers, Felix, Dario and Juan Carlos. They are the fourth generation of their family to work with coffee, but the road to this point has not been smooth. Previously, the family were selling unprocessed cherry to a local cooperative at a low price. Like many in Costa Rica, the brothers saw that they could take more control of their value chain by processing their own coffees, but simply did not have access to the funds or financing to invest in the infrastructure required. So two of the brothers made the decision to immigrate to the United States, working illegally for several years in order to be able to afford to build the mill.

La Roca

La Roca was finally built in 2014, and we were able to visit during its first harvest season. The Umaña family now feel a much greater connection to their coffee; they are able to cup the final results, searching for the best varietals and processes for their farm. They are also able to directly invest in quality, demand higher prices for the micro-lots they produce, and keep more of the profit by consolidating their value chain. The youngest of the brothers, Dario, now wants to train as a barista and open a coffee shop in order to serve their own coffees directly, completing the chain from tree to cup.

This is the same lot we have purchased from La Roca several times, a honey-processed Catuai. To accomplish this process, a Penagos Ecopulper is used, set to remove almost all of the fruity mucilage from the coffee seed while using minimal water. This results in a ‘white’ honey, aiming for a fresh and bright expression in the cup. In this lot, a deep toffee sweetness is enhanced by the processing, and joined by fresh and crisp notes of mandarin and vanilla.

BREW GUIDE

V60

When brewing fruitier coffees, we like to use a high brew temperature and a fast flow through the coffee. Here is a nice an easy recipe for brewing.

DATA

15 grams of medium ground coffee
250 grams of water 30-50ppm 96°C
CAFEC Abaca or Light roast filters

METHOD

0:00

Add 60g of water

00:45

Pour the remaining 190g of water in slow concentric circles with a total pour time of 1 minute.

Total brew time should be around 2:30-3:00 minutes.

Discovery

High quality coffee from Costa Rica

This month’s coffees are excellent examples of the hard work and dedication shown by many Costa Rican producers since the advent of the micro-mill revolution. The work of many led to a great appetite for various profiles of high quality coffee from Costa Rica in the late 2000’s, forging relationships between producers and buyers. As other countries have started to adopt similar models, Costa Rica has remained ahead of the game, meeting the ever-changing needs of the speciality coffee market with great agility.

Allan Oviedo had to work long shifts as a taxi driver in San José to afford to build the Don Joel mill. He has continued his dedication to quality, growing high quality varietals and processing them with an aim for clarity and transparency in the cup. The Umaña family worked for years in the US in order to realise their La Roca mill. This is the sixth time we have purchased this fresh yet deeply sweet honey Catuai, a consistently excellent lot.