a balanced coffee with just enough nuance to make it interesting. Molasses, burnt sugar, bittersweet chocolate from middle to finish, hints of caramel apple and berry as it cools.
Maria Elena Castro and son Luis Salazar opened their micro mill, Beneficio Las Brisas, back in 2011 after years of delivering their coffee cherry to Helsar de Zarcero and CoopeNaranjo. Maria Elena’s farm, Finca Salaca, sits at 1750 masl in one of the more beautiful parts of Costa Rica, and Central America for that matter. The Pacific is the major influence in the West Valley with sprawling views of Naranjo and Alajuela readily available across it.
Finca Salaca is planted almost entirely with the Villalobos varietal although some Caturra is mixed in with it as well. Villalobos (also known as “Villa Sarchi) is a natural mutation of Bourbon. The West Valley was heavily seeded with the varietal in the 50’s and 60’s and a good portion still remains at these higher elevations.
Maria Elena mechanically washes her coffee on a Desacafe machine and sun dries it on raised beds. Leaving that fruit mucilage intact instead of washing it away is the hallmark of honey process coffee. This lot, however, is what some call “semi-washed”, or “white honey”, which is the Costa Rican equivalent of a fully washed coffee. The demucilager machine is calibrated to remove as much fruit as possible. Then the coffee is soaked for a short period to help wash away some of the remaining fruit. Without fermentation, there is still a very thin layer of fruit intact. This means the coffee looks a little darker when roasting it, and a much higher instance of chaff than the typical fully washed/fermented coffee.
- Origin: Costa Rica
- Region: Zarcero, West Valley
- Producer: Maria Elena Castro, Luis Salazar
- Farm: Finca Salaca
- Altitude: 1750 masl
- Cultivar: Villa Sarchi
- Processing: Semi-washed
- Sourcing: Sweet Maria’s