Costa Rica Tarrazu

Description

Farm Description

This microlot is brought to us by way of El Alumbre at Cafe de Costa Rica, a plot within the much larger Finca La Ortiga. Located in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, the dizzying altitudes provide farmers in this region some of the best micro-climates for coffee production. This particular plot is situated at 1800 meters in the micro-region of Colpachi El Guarco. Beneath the shady canopy of banana trees, farmer Omar Brenes Fallas has planted El Alumbre with a mix of Caturra and Catuai, both high-yielding cultivars, maximizing the potential harvest of this small-holder farm.

Cupping Notes

The ripeness of the coffee cherry is definitely brought to bear in the aromas and cup flavors of the ASO lot. From light to dark roast levels, the dry fragrance has soft chocolate tones, with vanilla and fruit traces. It is in the wet aroma that indications of cup flavor reveal themselves; plum, apple, cinnamon bark, light fruit (Apples) and caramel sauce emerge. I was really amazed at how different my test roast levels were in the cup, and each excellent in their own regard. At FullCity the cup has more malic acidity and apple fruit tones, a light brown sugar sweetness as sucrose develops with the roast, hazelnut in the finish and a very sliky mouthfeel. There is a nice rounded dark cocoa sweetness in the finish, buttery mouthfeel, plum fruit notes. It’s a rounded flavor profile, well-structured but nothing outrageous; yet as it cools it becomes more and more convincing of it’s intrinsic qualities.