We taste: creamed honey, Apple Jacks, chocolate covered raspberries, lilac syrup, soft and juicy pear-like acidity

Producer: Francisca and Oscar Chacón

Region: Sabanetilla, Poás, Alajuela, Costa Rica

Elevation: 1,550 meters above sea level

Process: Black Honey

Varietal: Bourbon, Catuaí, Caturra, and Villa Sarchi

Cumbres del Poas is a certified organic coffee farm in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica owned by Oscar and Francisca Chacón.  Coffee has been grown on the farm by the Chacón family for three generations.  Like most small-farms in Costa Rica the Chacóns were growing coffee and selling cherries to multinational corporations for processing.  In order to keep the farm profitable and to take processing into their own hands the family built an on-site micro-mill in 2006.  At that time, coffees from Cumbres del Poas, were mainly washed, as was the norm for Costa Rican coffees.  

 In 2008 a major earthquake struck the region during the harvest season and left the farm without access to water or electricity (both of which are needed for washing coffee).  So, out of necessity, the Chacóns dried their coffee in cherry (natural process).  This processing method allowed the Chacóns to differentiate their coffees with cup profiles much different than the usual Costa Rican coffee.  Since that harvest, Oscar and Francisca have continued reinventing and refining the methods they use for processing.  This has resulted in coffees that are frequently seen in global barista competitions and placing highly in the Cup of Excellence. Cumbres del Poas is now world famous for their coffees processed through their natural and honey methods.  These methods not only result in highly differentiated cup profiles but also drastically soften the environmental impact through the extreme reduction of water usage and wastewater production on the farm.

This lot was processed using the black honey process. The process starts with freshly-picked fully-ripe coffee cherries. The Chacóns set their de-pulper to partially remove the cherries from the seeds. The coffee is then dried on raised beds with mucilage (sugars and proteins) and partial coffee skins intact.

The Chacóns manage their drying very meticulously. The coffee is set out on the drying beds to dry in the soft morning sun, moved to a storage warehouse during the hottest and brightest part of the day, in the diffused light of the late afternoon the coffee is moved back to the drying beds before once again being moved to a storage warehouse where it rests in bags for the night. This process results for an extend period of even drying the which gives more sweetness, vibrancy and complexity to the cup. It is important to handle the coffee carefully during transport between drying beds and the warehouse as the idea is to dry the coffee without removing too much mucilage or coffee skin.