Description
This lot comes from Finca La Esperanza, a roughly 12-acre family farm in La Esperanza de Tarrazu, within the province of San Jose, worked by the Familia Monge. Leading the way is Rodolfo Monge, who has spent more than 40 years cultivating coffee, alongside his son Gustavo, who has driven much of the recent innovation. It was only in the last few years that the family began processing their own coffee, in large part because of Gustavo’s interest in building real traceability for his family’s coffee.
Tarrazu is arguably the most renowned coffee region in Costa Rica, and it is no accident: the high altitude, the volcanic soil (here a volcanic loam) and the cool mountain climate make the bean grow smaller and denser, which translates into clean, complex cups with lovely acidity. This lot is grown between 1500 and 1700 masl, with Catuai and Caturra varieties, and the harvest runs from November to March.
Father and son now work with their own micro-mill, where cherry selection and drying are executed with great care. This is a full natural through and through: the cherry is dried whole on raised beds, which concentrates the sweetness and fruit notes inside the bean, eliminates the need to wash the coffee and greatly reduces the environmental impact, while at the same time producing a very expressive cup profile. Conventional certification.
Tasting Notes: To see this cup shine, light to medium roasts are the way to go. At lighter roasts you get medium acidity, a lighter body and a delicate, sweet cup with strong red fruit tones (orange to strawberry like, with hints of cherry). Citric (lemon/lime) and floral (jasmine) notes jump right out with the fruitiness, and it pulls some balance with a little nutty/tea like tones that give it awesome depth, along with flashes of candied almond and a pinch of cinnamon. At medium it holds up really well: those nutty/herbal tones turn into a rich chocolaty factor with fruity highlights, and a cane sugar and dulce de leche sweetness comes through. Push it towards a darker roast and it gets a bit rougher; everyone still liked it, but there it turns a little bitter, with more of an oaky/barrel aged tone than sweet red fruit.
Roasting Notes: High chaff, but very easy to roast: a lovely fruit forward natural and a clean screen of coffee. For a light roast, drop it shortly after first crack to preserve the citric acidity, the floral notes and the red fruit. For a medium roast, take it to the end of first crack or just as second crack begins to peek out, which is where you get the best balance of sweetness, fruit and chocolaty body. If you go for a dark roast, tread carefully as you touch second crack, because it quickly loses its fruity character and turns more bitter and oaky. As with many fruity naturals, there is much debate on setup time: some love it best after 12-24 hours, others live by 5+ days before drinking. The good news is we found it very tasty regardless of setup; the fruitiness does mellow a little bit over time, but the depth of flavors increases.
timhestand (verified owner) –
I roasted a sample in two batches, one light and on medium.
The Light roast was taken to a City – and rested for 4 days. It was a very delicate cup with heavy floral notes and a slight citrus taste as a pour over. Wouldn’t be my daily but I enjoyed it.
The Medium I took to a City + and still 4 days rest. This one “really” surprised me. Also a pour over and sipping as a black coffee, it was very sweet and I could taste “Strawberry”. The I tried adding a little creamer and a tsp of sugar and WOW!!!! This was good. I ordered another 25 Lbs immediately.