This coffee from the land of pura vida, produced in the beautiful, mountainous region of Tarrazú, can be found in our coffee selection for the third consecutive year. It is very sweet and balanced and we find notes of stone fruit, toffee or caramel and dried fruits. To us, it's a great morning coffee.
After harvesting the cherries, they are depulped with the Ecopulper – an important tool for the family, as it allows them to define the amount of mucilage that is being removed from the coffee beans before the fermentation and drying.
In order for the coffee to dry evenly, they ensure that it is moved frequently. On the first day, they spread out the coffee in a thin layer and constantly keep an eye on it. Next, usually on the third day, they distribute the coffee in slightly thicker layers to slow down drying a little bit. The coffee is then moved every hour until the sun sets in order for it to dry consistently. During the hottest hours of the day, they cover the coffee to avoid it being exposed to too much heat. The whole drying process takes about 12-15 days. After that, the resulting parchment coffee is put into plastic bags to rest for two months, before it's dry-milled to get rid of the parchment layer.
Process: Honey/Pulped Natural Varieties/Cultivars: Caturra
Altitude: 1710 masl, 9.7°N
Cup Profile: Raisin, Toffee, Red Apple
We paid an FOB price of $5.05/lb for this coffee, which is 253% of the Fairtrade minimum price. Learn more about what this means here.
La Angostura
Farm: Micro Beneficio La Angostura Producer: Arleen & Maria Jimenez Purchasing relationship: 3 years Region: La Angostura de León Cortés, Tarrazú
Altitude: 1700-1710 masl, 9.7°N
When we visited the farm in early 2022, the two sisters Arleen and «Lidey» (whose real name is Maria) and their father Mario were very welcoming and showed us every aspect of the production. They work highly organized and keep track of every lot during processing and drying. During the harvest season, 15 people are employed to help with picking. Apart from this time, all the work throughout the year is done by the family.
Arleen and Maria want people to know how much hard work goes into the production of coffee and they want consumers to understand that producing coffee costs a lot of money, too. They are very active in the local coffee community and work closely with Bean Voyage.
At the inaugural Women-Powered Coffee Summit, organized by Bean Voyage, the Jimenez sisters were both speakers. They also contributed to «Más que un café», a participatory documentary consisting of short films. Along with three other female coffee producers from Costa Rica, they reveal what it means – and what it takes – to produce coffee in an industry that often makes them invisible. The short films can be rented here at a small fee.
The sisters went to university, but decided to keep working in coffee instead of spending their days at an office in the city, like many of their friends do. They prefer working on the farm and getting up at 6 every morning and they are convinced that coffee can offer them a good life if they make sure the quality is good – which they do.
Bean Voyage
Bean Voyage, a feminist non-profit social enterprise on a mission to eradicate the gender gap in farming communities, is our sourcing partner for Costa Rican coffees. We got in touch with Sunghee Tark, co-founder and CEO of Bean Voyage, just a few months before our trip to Costa Rica and we soon knew that we would be working together. Learn more about Bean Voyage, who is also the organized of the Women-Powered Coffee Summit, on their website and Instagram.
Brew Recommendation
Origami Dripper S, Origami 2 Cup paper filter
15g coffee, 250g water, 95°c
medium-fine filter grind size
brew with 5 pours
total contact time 2:35-2:50
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
