Costa Rica Alma Negra Natural

This is from the famous Las Lajas mill and the Cumbres del Poas estate in Costa Rica and is a microlot of their natural process (dry process). They use a special meter to measure coffee cherry sweetness during the harvest and only allow the sweetest cherries into the lot marked "Alma Negra" or Black Soul and this coffee lives up to that sweetness.

This farm hardly uses any water and doesn't wash any of their coffees so they can focus on the natural and honey processed coffees. This bean went through the sundried process that Ethiopian and many African coffee goes through, to allow the fructose and fruity flavors of the fruit soak into the coffee.

Even though this is a Central American coffee, you want to roast it as if it is a natural Ethiopian. We shorten the middle of the roast, when the drying phase ends till first cracks begin, by maybe 30 seconds compared to a normal coffee. Then you want to coax it slowly through first cracks. Give it 30 degrees and 3 minutes from the beginning of first cracks to end of roast. Maybe 10-20 seconds past the end of the first cracks.

In the coffee, you'll taste fruits of sweet cherry, hints of stonefruit and a little boozy, like alcohol. It has a nice full, creamy body and finishes like a wine, almost like fermented or baked berries. It is the sweetest of the Costa Rica processes, and also makes great espresso at both this lighter roast, and also at darker roasts.

USA Arrival: June 2020