Acidity and syrupy sweetness stood out in the cup, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the Kenyan variety. Aromatic honey note, cane juice, dark tea, Turkish spice mix, lemon-like brightness.
It’s a coffee from Sumava coffee farm in Costa Rica. One unique thing, it’s an SL 28 variety, which is a unique Bourbon selection from Kenya known for pronounced acidity and sweetness, but seldom grown in Costa Rica. But perhaps more impantly, it’s from a farm run by long term Costa Rican supplier, Francisco Mena, of Sweet Maria’s.
Exclusive Coffees, in a small garage almost 20 years ago. Francisco’s volume capacity has grown to impressive proportions since 29 years ago, but his focus on sourcing high quality coffees has not wavered, nor has his commitment to developing longterm buying relationships between clients all over the world, and the producers he works with.
Sumava is located in Costa Rica’s West Valley region, within Lourdes de Naranjo. Francisco tells us the SL-28 is planted on a small plot he calls, “La Ladera”, situated at 1700 meters above sea level. The outer fruit is pulped, but he leaves a thin layer of fruit mucilage intact during the 25-30 days it takes to dry the coffee on raised beds. We found this coffee to be syrupy sweet, with well-articulated acidity in the light roasts, and subtly complex aroma.
- Origin: Costa Rica
- Region: West Valley
- Producer: Francisco Mena
- Farm: Sumava
- Altitude: 1700m
- Cultivar: SL-28
- Processing: Yellow Honey