Costa Rica, Finca Venado - SL28
| Variety | SL-28 |
| Process | Anaerobic Yellow Honey |
| Altitude | 12-1900 masl |
| Harvest | Dec - Mar |
| Flavours | Chocolate l Cola l Red Grape |
This gem of a coffee is full bodied and sweet. It makes me see brown and red. Reminds me of chocolate, cola and red grape.
From the importer, Cafe Imports:
Cerro San Luis Micromill is a family business run by two siblings Alexander and Magali Delgado and their spouses, who own and operate both farms and a small mill in Grecia, in the West Valley. In the interest of improving their quality and remaining competitive, they have focused on growing different varieties, and about 4 years ago they replaced their older stock with 10 or more different types of coffee, including Caturra, Red and Orange Bourbon, SL-28, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, and Maragogype.
The family's farms are adjacent to one another, but the plots are given separate names for lot separation purposes, and the mill is located at the family home, just a few miles away.
After harvesting, the cherry is brought right to the family home, where they are able to do a variety of different processes, from washed and honeys to natural. As is common at mills in Costa Rica, at Cerro San Luis the type of honey is decided by how much mucilage is left on the coffee after depulping.
The cherries are left to ferment for one night in closed coffee bags. The next day before the outdoor temperature rises, the cherries are taken to the mill to be washed/disinfected and depulped. Next, they are stored in stainless steel containers. The anaerobic fermentation happens between 6-48 hours depending on what they are searching in terms of cup flavors. They also take into consideration the Brix levels and the quality of the cherries.
Next, the coffee is washed to avoid stains on the parchment. The drying method is with raised beds in a greenhouse, the temperature can’t be more than 45°C. Coffee is moved constantly until it reaches a range of 10-11% of humidity. It can take from 3-4 days depending on the weather.
It is important to note this coffee was intentionally processed utilizing anaerobic fermentation. In general, placing freshly-harvested cherries inside a sealed container or bag of some sort for a period of time will create a flavor impact. We find those anaerobically-fermented coffees often exhibit an increase in the intensity of fruit and acidity and a slight increase in the body. Nonetheless, the anaerobic fermentation process has a distinct impact on the outcome of the flavor profile.