Dark Chocolate. Toffee. Blackberry Jam.
Farm: Casa de Piedra
Grower: Gerardo Arias
Region: Tarrazú
Country: Costa Rica
Processing: Natural
Elevation: 1,400 - 1,500m
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai
Sourced Through: InterAmerican Coffee Australia
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Casa de Piedra is located in the Tarrazu district, in the micro-region of “Llano Bonito de Leon Cortes”. The farm’s name means “Stone House”, and its yearly production is around the 2500 fanegas, with varietals in production such as Caturra, Yellow Catuai, Red Catuai, Venecia, Villa Sarchi, and Geisha.
The Arias family began to mill their cherries themselves in order to gain a better control over their coffee’s quality and fetch better prices. Semi washed, honey, and natural are some of the processes most popular processes for Casa de Piedra, but they also process some very nice anaerobic fermentation coffees.
In addition, Gerardo Arias recently obtained his Q grader and Q processing certification which only adds to his already wide knowledge and experience.
The cherries for this lot are hand-picked before they are immersed in a floatation tank to separate unripe/defective fruits. The cherries were dried with the entire fruit on concrete patios for 8 days, before being transferred to the mechanical dryer where time and temperature are meticulously controlled to achieve the best possible shelf-life.
When the coffee reaches the desired humidity point, it is stored and left to rest for 2 months before being hauled. It is then dry-milled, process during which dry husk is removed from the seeds, and the resulting coffee beans go through weight, screen, density, and colour sorting.
The farm has 3 rock formations near the river that used to be inhabited by the first settlers. Don Gerardo says that when he was a kid he would go spend summers living in these caves.
Mechanical driers are commonly know as Guardiolas in Costa Rica. “G#2” stands for “Guardiola 2” which is Gerardo’s favourite guardiola on his farm.
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Orange, Kombucha and Lingonberry.
Farm: Brumas del Zurqui Micromill
Grower: Juan Ramon Alvarado Rodriguez and family
Region: Heredia, Central Valley
Country: Costa Rica
Processing: Natural
Elevation: 1,400 - 1,800masl
Varieties: Orange Bourbon
Sourced Through: Cafe Imports Australia
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Beneficio Brumas Del Zurqui is a micromill located in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica in the sub-region of Heredia. Neighboring farms deliver cherries to this micromill. Varieties include Villa Sarchi, SL-28, Bourbon, Gesha, Typica, Caturra, and Orange Bourbon.
The mill is managed and run by Juan Ramon Alvarado Rodriguez and his family. They are fourth generation coffee producers and in 2003-2004, they began innovating their processing methods and expanding their processing infrastructure. They have also built out a cupping laboratory and roastery to ensure and maintain quality.
In the past couple years Beneficio Brumas Del Zurqui has had to face labor shortages due to both the pandemic and workers moving on to other countries in search of other employment. However, Juan takes great pride in what he does and is glad to have been able to build a family, generate employment, and provide a positive social and economic impact to his community through coffee. Juan encourages the roasters who buy his coffee to roast with intention and wake up feeling motivated, cheerful, and with a desire to live and have new experiences! He hopes that the values and love of coffee he cultivates on the farm will be carried all the way through the pipeline from seed to cup.
“I hope to God that I will die a farmer and I hope my son does too” – Juan Ramon Alvarado Rodriguez
Region - Central Valley
The Central Valley of Costa Rica is the heart of the country’s coffee industry. The high elevation, consistent weather patterns, frequent rains, and volcanic soil contribute to the wide range of offerings we are able to source form this region. Producers in the Central Valley often grow traditional hybrids and apply some of Costa Rica’s most forward-thinking processing techniques.
Microlot
Microlots from Costa Rica are typically sourced from producers who have invested not only in growing their farms, but also in building and operating their own processing facilities, typically called "micromills." Micromills typically yield fewer than 1,000 bags annually, and are often independently owned by a family or small group of producers. Microlots in Costa Rica are separated out based on differentiated characterizations such as processing, variety, or some other aspect. Microlots carry the highest quality as well as the highest level of traceability.
Process
Natural coffees are typically processed the day they are harvested, and are first sorted for ripeness and quality before being rinsed clean of debris. In many places this initial sorting happens via a float tank: Damaged and defective cherries will float to the top to be removed, while high-quality coffee will sink to the bottom to be cleaned and dried. After sorting, cherries are spread on raised drying beds, table, tarps, or patios, where they will be rotated constantly throughout the course of drying. Drying can take an average of 30–40 days, depending on the weather.
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Filter: Sticky Date Pudding
30% Monte Cristo Estate
Producer: Medina Family
Region: Veracruz
Country: Honduras
Processing: Fully Washed
Decaffeination: Mountain Water Process
Elevation: 1,050 masl
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai Rojo y Amarillo, Java, Marcelleza, Etiozar, Anacafe 14
Sourced Through: Langdon Coffee Merchants
70% Jairo Arcilla
Producer: Jairo Arcilla
Region: Santa Monica, Quindio
Country: Colombia
Processing: Natural
Decaffeination: Water-Natural Ethyl Acetate Method
Elevation: 1,400masl
Varieties: Pink bourbon
Sourced Through: Cofinet
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About Monte Cristo Estate
Hacienda Monte Cristo Estate is a family-run, coffee-producing farm since 1916 in Western Honduras, very close to the borders of Guatemala. The farm lies in the fertile valleys of the Mayan Mountains. It is 15km from the provincial capital of Santa Rosa de Copan, in the municipality of Veracruz. The Medina family have been running this farm for over five generations!
Coffee here is meticulously grown using environmentally friendly practices and a lot of care is taken during the milling and drying processes. To facilitate this, the farm has increased its solar drying area to accommodate larger volumes while maintaining quality control.
This lot is mechanically pulped, leaving around 4.5% of mucilage (sticky fruit). It is fermented anaerobically, then washed and rinsed. The coffee is then dried on patios for 40 hours, then on elevated beds for 7-15 days, and finally machine dried for 25 hours.
About the Mountain Water Process
This lot was decaffeinated at the Descamex factory in Mexico. Descamex uses processes free of any chemicals. Coffee processed in this plant is organic and processed with the mountain waters that flow from the tip of Pico de Orizaba in Mexico. Each batch of green coffee is soaked in water until the soluble components seep out of the beans. The caffeine-extracted fluid is passed through a filter that extracts the caffeine from this solution. The coffee to be decaffeinated is then rehydrated and placed in the tank under optimal temperatures, vacuum, and pressures for the caffeine to be extracted. This solution then combines the crystal-clear waters of Pico de Orizaba and imparts the flavour and top notes that identify a coffee and its origin. After the extraction, the beans are triple-dried before being polished and physically and chemically analysed for remaining caffeine.
Decaffeinated coffee from Descamex reads between 0.020% to a maximum of 0.10%(g/100g) or about 99.9% caffeine free.
About Jairo Arcila
Jairo Arcila is a third-generation coffee grower from Quindio, Colombia. He is married to Luz Helena Salazar and they have two children together, Carlos and Felipe Arcila, who are the co- founders of Cofinet. Jairo’s first job was at Colombia’s second-largest exporter, working as their Mill Manager for over 40 years until his retirement in 2019. Jairo bought his first coffee farm, Finca La Esmeralda, in 1987 and this is where he planted his first Caturra lot. He was fortunate enough to earn money by producing coffee on his farm in addition to working full time.
Using his savings, Jairo slowly managed to purchase five additional farms. After Esmeralda came Villarazo, Mazatlan, Santa Monica, Maracay and then Buenos Aires. During the harvest period, Jairo is able to provide a number of jobs to locals which has a significant economic impact on their community
Jairo has received great advice and guidance from his sons who are now experts in producing Specialty Coffee. With their help, Jairo has greatly improved the picking, sorting, and processing of his coffees. His sons have also guided Jairo in the production of exotic varieties. He now grows varieties like Pink Bourbon, Java, Papayo ,and Gesha growing across all his farms. The guidance from his sons has empowered Jairo and given him the tools needed to produce fantastic coffees with amazing flavour profiles.
Besides coffee, Jairo also grows other agricultural products on his farms such as mandarin, orange, plantain, and banana. Jairo enjoys starting the day with a really good breakfast! But most importantly, he enjoys spending time with his family.
This coffee was carefully hand-picked in order to select only the ripest cherries and then hand-sorted to remove any defects. The coffee was sundried on raised beds in temperature- controlled conditions until the ideal moisture content is achieved. This decaffeination process is unique. The caffeine is extracted from the bean using sugar cane and water which enhances sweetness while maintaining coffee attributes. This micro-lot is 100% Pink Bourbon. This varietal is currently under research in order to determine its origin. It is said that it is a mutation that took place at 2100 m.a.s.l in San Adolfo, Huila.
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We're always experimenting here at Monastery and our identity will always be with our light roasted coffee. However, we can't ignore part of our coffee congregation who find it hard to work with light roast or prefer a darker coffee, so here is our first Monastery Project, a delicious and juicy coffee we have loved as a light roast and now as a medium roast which we've found unlocks a punchier flavour.
Monastery Projects in the future will be anything out of our normal roasting style.
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Espresso - Neapolitan Ice-cream!
Region: Ermera
We are excited to present you the coffees from the suco (village) of Lauana. Coffee here grows in the forests; shaded, untouched, and organic by default.
Cherry is first floated in water, to separate the fruit by density. The higher the density, the higher the quality of the coffee. This leaves the low density, less mature cherries to float to the surface, which are easily removed from the water.
The Raimutin station staff then meticulously hand-sort the freshly picked and sorted cherry, removing all damaged or underripe fruit. The cherry is then transported to raised beds, where they are dried in high sun for three weeks. The staff turn the lots regularly to ensure even airflow and sun contact. When the cherries have reached their perfect drying level, the seeds are removed from the cherry and prepared for export.
The remaining cherry is not discarded, rather, it is saved for redistribution as fertiliser to the farmers who grew them.
Raw Sugar, Pomelo and Apple Blossom
Farm: La Divisa
Producer: Oscar Restrepo
Country: Colombia
Region: Risaralda
Elevation: 1,780 masl
Variety: Pink Bourbon
Processing: Natural
Sourced Through: HarvestTown Coffee
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Oscar is a 3rd generation coffee grower who took the management of the family farm several years ago while he was studying agronomy at university.
Oscar has always been passionate about all coffee process and he saw an opportunity to start experimenting unconventional processing methods for his coffee since at that stage most of Colombian coffee was washed and not many farmers were keen to try different methods.
Ever since Oscar has been focusing on the Natural process for selected micro lots of the harvests, achieving cupping scores above 86 points on the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) scale and producing very complex and exceptional coffees with fruity and winey notes accompanied by medium acidity and body.
Harvest period:
October – January
April - June
Picking:
The hand-picking is done between 6 am and 12 pm to take advantage of the sunlight.
The coffee is hand-picked and we pay some of our pickers a bit higher than normal with the only condition to pick exclusively the ripe cherries.
During the harvest period at La Divisa the picking takes place every 20 days, with this we allow the cherries to ripe properly thus obtaining a coffee with higher sugar levels.
Drying Process:
The picking finishes at 12 pm and if the day is sunny and warm, it is put into water tanks for 2-3 hours in order to remove floaters.
Once floaters have been removed, the batch is put to dry on patios without fermentation.
On the other hand, when the picking finishes but the day is cold and cloudy, the batch is put into fermentation tanks until the next day (24 hours) and after this period of time the coffee is placed onto patios for drying.
The drying process takes normally between 18 and 22 days.
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Region: Jernih Jaya, Jambi
About the coffee:
The Kerinci Regency, located within the Jambi province on the island of Sumatra in
Indonesia, is an area renowned for its world-class coffee production. Nestled amongst majestic rainforests,with its highest peak Mount Kerinci reaching an impressive 3,800 masl, this region has proven to be highly conducive to successful coffee cultivation. Rich volcanic soils and high altitudes ensure that the smallholder farms of the Kerinci highlands are able to produce some truly remarkable coffees.
The Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative, founded by Triyono, is one of the most successful cooperatives in this region. Established in 2017, the cooperative comprises 380 members who cultivate coffee on over 200 hectares of land across the village of Jernih Jaya and nearby areas. Grown at 1,500 masl, this particular lot is composed of 40% Sigarar Utang, 50% S-795 and 10% Andungsari varieties.
The harvested beans are first soaked in water to remove floaters before undergoing an 8-day fermentation process. During this time, the coffees are stored in plastic bags which are flipped twice a day to ensure even and consistent fermentation. The coffee is then dried on raised beds for 22-25 days before undergoing a two week resting period. The beans then go through hulling and gravity grading, where defective beans are removed to ensure that only the highest quality coffee remains.
This coffee is sorted into different grades according to size and density before being packed first in hermetic plastic bags and then into jute bags ready for export. The cooperative’s commitment to quality led them to win several national-level competitions since their establishment.
In 2021 they achieved a remarkable 6th place in the Cup of Excellence competition - a testament to their skill and hard work. Additionally, to improve farm productivity, cooperative members have incorporated shade trees and an agroforestry system that benefits both the environment and coffee farmers’ incomes.