Costa Rica

Helsar de Zarcero

Intense ripe berries

The SL28 varietal character is clear here, with intense ripe berry notes joined by a typically deep and rich Costa Rican sweetness.

Ricardo Perez processes many grades of coffee at Helsar de Zarcero.

Producer
Ricardo Perez
Coffee expression
A fruity & rich coffee

Regular price: $28.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $28.00
incl. vat/tax
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This lot from Ricardo Perez’ Santa Lucia plot showcases the ripe fruit intensity of the SL28 varietal.

Helsar de Zarcero

A ‘white’ honey

The Helsar de Zarcero mill processes coffee for a group of neighbouring farms around the village of Llano Bonito. The mill sits at 1700 masl in Costa Rica’s West Valley, not too far from Francisco Mena’s Sumava mill where we have purchased several lots in the past, and from La Isla and Luis Jimenez where we’ve also purchased coffee this year.

Ricardo Perez, owner of Helsar, splits his coffees into three tiers. The first is Helsar, a micro-regional blend from all the contributing farmers, mainly Catuai and reflecting the Costa Rican terroir, sweet, clean and often with a rich hazelnut finish. The second tier gives more traceability, often from single farmers in the region, with single varietals and processes. The top tier is only for coffees from Ricardo’s own plot, Santa Lucia, that neighbours the mill. This lot is an example of the top tier. Ricardo grows a beautiful garden of different varietals, and processes each using the same degree of care and attention.

This lot of SL28 was processed using a honey process, removing as much mucilage as possible to create a ‘white’ honey. This aims for a bright and fresh flavour profile, showcasing the intensity of ripe fruit that the varietal has to offer. The process simply adds to the sweetness underpinning the ripe berries with rich brown sugar.

Costa Rica

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.

2022 marks the ninth 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.

Technical Data

Producer
Ricardo Perez
Region
West Valley
Altitude
1700 masl
Varietal
SL28
Process
Honey
Harvest
March 2022

Honey Process

With the honey process a certain amount of mucilage and pulp are allowed to remain on the coffee bean during depulping. The cover will stay with the bean during fermentation and drying thereby contributing to the sugars absorbed by the bean and affecting the flavour notes of the final cup. The amount of mucilage remaining defines the type of honey process - white, yellow, red or black in ascending order of mucilage concentration. If they are processed properly, the coffees can take on quite a lot of sweetness and flavours while remaining clean.

Raised drying beds (sometimes referred to as African drying beds) are often preferable when working with honey processed coffees, because of the additional airflow they allow. The air ensures that the beans dry evenly and reduces the incidence of fungi and bacteria formation. On the other hand, some farmers are accustomed to using sun-exposed patio drying that require a regular raking of beans to avoid moulds. While total fermentation and drying time depend on such choices as well as ambient temperature and moisture levels, red honey processing easily needs two weeks from depulping until drying has completed.