Beneficio San Diego, Costa Rica’s most innovative and largest private mill, acquired Montano Micro Mill with a plan to take experimentation to the next level. Montano is led by Juan Ramon, a local producer with a strong reputation for high quality. Under his direction and with Volcafe support, Montano is set to become a high-powered lab where research towards new processes can thrive.
Volcafe and Funación Pro Zoológicos have partnered to preserve Panthera onca, an endangered jaguar species in Costa Rica that holds cultural significance in indigenous mysticism. The current population is estimated at less than 15,000 jaguars left in the wild. For every quintal (around 100lbs) of this coffee sold, $1 will be donated to Funación Pro Zoológicos for their efforts to conserve the critical big cats.
The Anaerobic process begins with the selection of handpicked ripe, red coffee cherries. Selecting the cherries when they are at their ripest ensures a high sugar content, which helps feed the anaerobic process. At the mill, the coffee is depulped with a portion of the mucilage left intact. From there, the coffee is put in air-tight, stainless-steel tanks with the mucilage left on. The absence of oxygen stimulates an anaerobic fermentation process. The process develops in a unique series of acids such as lactic and malic, which results in a very complex flavor. Once the coffee has been fermented sufficiently, it is dried to 11.5% moisture and rested to allow complex and exotic flavors to develop.
History of Costa Rican Coffee
Coffee came to Costa Rica as early as 1779 and within 50 years was generating more revenue than any other crop, but by the 1830’s they were growing more coffee than the ships heading south could take. And virtually no infrastructure existed for transporting even a small amount of green coffee to the east coast of Costa Rica (where London was a mere 5,000 miles away). The distribution woes of Costa Rican coffee producers reached the ears of an up-and-coming shipping magnate named William Le Lacheur in 1841 and on Christmas day, 1841 he sailed The Monarch into port at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and thus began a long and mutually beneficial relationship. On one voyage to London in late in 1843, the Monarch carried more than half a million pounds of Costa Rican coffee.
Coffee in Costa Rica is as advanced as it gets. The country has a reputation for delivering high quality and innovation – a winning combination that earns Costa Rica the right to sell coffee at a premium. Costa Rica’s quality socio-economic infrastructure programs, such as universal healthcare, high education levels, sophisticated agronomy and research, and well-regulated agricultural sustainability programs, certainly contribute to the high cost (and high value) of the coffee. Additionally, when coffee roasters buy Costa Rican green coffee, producers receive nearly 80% of the FOB value, guaranteed.
Growing Coffee in Costa Rica
Coffee grows in eight coffee regions throughout Costa Rica. In the central and northern highlands where most specialty coffee is found, coffee grows from 1200-1700 meters. Ninety percent of Costa Rican coffee is grown by 50,000 farmers on less than 5 hectares. Although nearly all Costa Rican coffee is wet milled, the country produces a wide variety of honey processed coffee. Coffee is dried using both patios and mechanical dryers. Costa Rica grows Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, Bourbon and Gesha.
Country: Costa Rica
Region: Tarrazú & Tres Ríos
Farm: Various smallholders, Montano Micro-mill
Elevation: 1200-1750 MASL
Variety: Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Anaerobic Honey
Tasting notes: Light, bright, & floral with flavors of cinnamon, blackberry, mango, & raspberry.