Cafe Grumpy » costa rica

Colleen’s Trip Report – Costa Rica & Panama

cafegrumpy — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:06:42 +0000

The harvest is only in the very beginning stages in some regions in Costa Rica and has yet to start in others, but it was still a very informative and exciting trip. I visited producer’s mills in Tarrazu, Costa Rica then flew to Panama to visit Volcan and Boquete. The next week, I headed back to Costa Rica to visit the Central and West Valleys.

Since this was my first visit to Costa Rica, it was great chance to spend time visiting mills and speaking with producers to learn more about how the coffee industry in Costa Rica works. They are moving away from having centralized processing mills where producers would simply deliver their coffee cherry to a mill to now processing their own cherry and working directly with an exporter. This is especially exciting for us as coffee roasters because it means the conversation between us and the producer has fewer intermediaries.

During this trip, I also had the opportunity to meet a producer we have been working with for the last couple of years – Richardo Calderon. His coffee has always been an exceptional arrival. In fact, it is the one I wait all year to receive and then feel sad when we roast through it all! Richardo and his sons have a few farms and a very thoughtful perception on producing coffee as well as pride in their mill. It’s very promising to see an entire family dedicated to such high quality production and it looks to be that the next generation of Calderons will be great farmers, just like the current generation.

The second half of the week in Panama was just as interesting as our time in Costa Rica. Over the last two years, both lots of coffee we have featured from Panama were bought through the International Best of Panama Competition. The selections entered into these competitions have always been impressive and I took this visit as a chance to discover what factors in to producing such great coffees.

There is, in Boquete, maybe even more pride and friendly competition between producers then I have ever before seen. Boquete is a pretty remarkable place for growing coffee due to its many micro-climates. All of the basic rules of quality are strictly adhered to so it is almost like crossing off any external variables and tasting truly how the available nutrients, moisture, and maturation of each micro-climate effects cup quality.

I returned from this trip very excited and hopeful for the coming year in coffees.

-Colleen

View more photos from this trip here.

Los Angeles

cafegrumpy — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 22:48:47 +0000

Creamy mouth-feel. Notes of bourbon and milk chocolate. Slight dried-cherry brightness. Caramel in the finish.

Shipped in Grainpro.

Finca Monte Canet (Espresso), Don Mayo Estate Microlot

cafegrumpy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:21:27 +0000

Juicy flavors like honey, cantaloupe, and red grape.

Our two new Costa Rican offerings come from two farms (Finca el Llano and Monte Canet) that are part of the lager Don Mayo Beneficio. High grown at 1650 – 1950 meters above sea level, these coffees truly express the terrior of the area. The Caturra, Typica and Bourbon varietals grown on the farms are part a movement happening through the combined efforts of the Don Mayo Estate.

Through research of varietals and studying the land, this estate has been able to dramatically improve their coffee. Further improving the cup quality they have also made huge improvements to their milling and drying process (their mill incorporates environmental practices including reusing processing water and treating chaff for use as an organic fertilizer). They are the current Cup of Excellence champion in Costa Rica.

Finca El Llano, Don Mayo Estate Microlot

cafegrumpy — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:56:24 +0000

Flavors of red raspberry, lime, toffee and caramel.

Our two new Costa Rican offerings come from two farms (Finca el Llano and Monte Canet) that are part of the lager Don Mayo Beneficio. High grown at 1650 – 1950 meters above sea level, these coffees truly express the terrior of the area. The Caturra, Typica and Bourbon varietals grown on the farms are part a movement happening through the combined efforts of the Don Mayo Estate.

Through research of varietals and studying the land, this estate has been able to dramatically improve their coffee. Further improving the cup quality they have also made huge improvements to their milling and drying process (their mill incorporates environmental practices including reusing processing water and treating chaff for use as an organic fertilizer). They are the current Cup of Excellence champion in Costa Rica.

Helsar de Zarcero

cafegrumpy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:14 +0000

Medium, creamy body. Fresh blackberry aroma, mellow acidity. Finishing with honeycomb sweetness.

100% Caturra
Aquapulped and Sun Dried
“This micromill was started by three families with the goal of adding value and providing traceability to the high quality coffee grown on their land. Ten families now work to produce and mill coffee at Helsar de Zarcero. Sustainable practices are used throughout the farm. Organic fertilizers are fermented on-site by mixing coffee cherry pulp and molasses, along with mined zinc, boron, and other minerals. Micro-organisms are cultured from soil collected on nearby mountains and added to the natural fertilizer in order to provide disease protection to the coffee plants.”