Costa Rica

Sumava

Fresh and ripe honey SL28

An exacting honey process leads to an intense sweetness and waves of fresh fruit in this lot of SL28 by Francisco Mena.

Sumava won the Costa Rican Cup of Excellence in 2016.

Producer
Francisco Mena
Coffee expression
A fruity & balanced coffee

Regular price: $27.00
incl. vat/tax
Sale price: $27.00
incl. vat/tax
Regular price: ~~$27.00~~
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The SL28 varietal combined with careful honey processing leads to a fresh and ripe fruit-driven profile.

Costa Rica

Sumava

This is the fourth time we have purchased coffee from the Sumava de Lourdes micro-mill in the West Valley of Costa Rica. The mill is located just outside the town of Naranjo de Lourdes, and the two farms that serve it, Monte Llano Bonito and Monte Lourdes, sit between 1600 and 1790 metres above sea level. This mill is owned by Francisco Mena, who also co-founded Exclusive Coffees, our export partner in Costa Rica. Francisco is very well-known in Costa Rican coffee circles, having been one of the driving forces behind the country’s ‘micro-mill revolution’, empowering smallholder producers to take control of the types and quality of coffee they produce.

After founding Exclusive in 2008, Francisco set about developing microlots with these producers, based on the needs of the expanding specialty coffee market. He also continues to work tirelessly to connect these producers with buyers like us who are willing to pay a premium for their expertise and the quality of the coffee they produce.

This lot is from Francisco’s small plot of SL28, the iconic and characterful signature varietal of Kenya. Francisco says himself that this is his favourite varietal on the farm, and this honey processed lot is a testament to that. The sweetness and richness from the terroir and process combine with the intense ripe fruit character of the SL28 to give a truly excellent cup.

Owned by Francisco Mena, our export partner in the region

The Sumava de Lourdes micro-mill

Francisco decided to distill all of the knowledge he had gained from working with these talented producers into his own project, and in November 2014, he took control of the Sumava de Lourdes micro-mill and its two attached farms. With help from a Czech investor, he took over the farm, which had not been invested in and cared for properly for some time. The investor also brought the name, Sumava is a national park that straddles the border between Czechia, Austria and Germany. Francisco is a big proponent of young plant tissue and of new varietals, so he set about planting many thousands of trees, and repairing the soils. Francisco and his team took many soil readings to determine what was lacking, before finding sources of organic fertilisers to minimise the use of artificial inputs on the farm.

Francisco says that what has been most interesting for him has been working together with the weather conditions in order to create the best possible raw material; remaining agile, knowing what his plants need and the precise moment to harvest in accordance with the slightly unpredictable weather conditions in the mountains of the West Valley. The conditions on the farm are influenced by both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, creating an abundance of cool winds, especially during the cherry maturation phase from December to February. The plants have adapted to these difficult conditions, concentrating sugars into the cherries and adding to intensity of flavour in the final cup.

The farm is planted mainly with Villa Sarchi and Caturra, but is also home to 12 different exotic varietal plots, which is part of what makes Francisco so excited for the future of Sumava. Francisco went on to win the 2016 Costa Rica Cup of Excellence, only 18 months after taking ownership of Sumava. The winning coffee was a Caturra lot, processed using an innovative ‘sweet sugar’ process. This lot was one of the highest scoring in the history of the competition, at 93.4.

Technical Data

Producer
Francisco Mena
Region
West Valley
Altitude
1600 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.