Costa Rica Naranjo Natural

This coffee is branded as "Cattleya" and is grown in the Naranjo region at a minimum of 4,000 feet above sea level in the middle of the country. The cultivars are Caturra and Catuai, and they come from several different farms. The "Cattleya Program" hopes to work with the same farmers year after year, teaching them how to maximize the quality and value of their crop, and rewarding them for their efforts. 

This coffee has really heavy body for a natural processed coffee, which is nice. It starts out with a fruity aroma, and the initial sip tastes like brown sugar, which quickly turns into sweetness of cherry and strawberry. There are no off-tastes or fermented tastes or earthiness, which is always a danger when experimenting with dry processing.

It is not as fruity as an Ethiopia coffee, but it's definitely fruity enough to get your attention. You can mindlessly sip this and fail to notice how intense the flavors are.

We are roasting this lightly and carefully. However, it gets a little bit longer of a roast than an Ethiopia. We give it about 20 extra seconds -- 4 extra degrees -- over a natural processed Ethiopian. Anything less than that has a raw taste that is strange and off-putting. Roasting this just into the 2nd cracks is a very nice choice for espresso.

Arrived in US in July 2020