West Valley

About 25% of the coffee grown in Costa Rica comes from the West Valley region. Elevations here range from 900-1400 masl, and the region is blessed with a variety of micro-climates suitable for coffee production. A substantial portion of the country's Cup of Excellence winners come out of the West Valley.

Short Natural Anaerobic

Whole cherries are placed in sealed plastic barrels after picking and sorting.   They are fermented without oxygen, maximizing contact with ripe fruit and favouring bacteria, which shapes the flavour and acid profile of the cup. Cherries are then patio dried and milled at Volcan Azul. Milled seeds are then further sorted for defects.  

These selections were chosen from a limited selection of lots which minimized the number of fermentation days (ranging from 2 to 5 days instead of 5 to 7).   Each showed more varietal and terroir expression while minimizing savoury or alcoholic notes that can accompany extended natural Anaerobic fermentation.  

Typica

Like Bourbon, Typica made its way out of Yemen by way of colonisation. In this case, the Dutch transported seeds to their colonial holdings in South America in 1719, from there the variety made its way to Brazil and then to the West Indies. Eventually, the English brought Typica to the Caribbean, from there, they were sent to Central America, where they were widely dispersed.

Typica has very high quality potential at high altitudes in Central America. Unfortunately, it is highly susceptible to disease.

Java

The Java variety is named after the Indonesian Island where the Dutch empire transported this variety directly from Ethiopia for colonial production.   The plant requires lower inputs and so has spread to various countries throughout the coffee growing world over the years, including to Costa Rica in 1991. The seed is physically distinctive with a long and pointed shape. and has a cup profile that is also distinct, tending to produce ample sweetness but with herbal and earthy tones alongside soft fruit.  

SL-28, SL-34

​​SL-28 is one of the best-known and highly sought-after varieties in Kenya. It was originally selected in the 1930s by Scott Laboratories. It is well regarded for its high-quality potential, its resistance to drought as well as resiliance, meaning that it can survive on its own for years and later be brought back into production. Unfortunately, it now highly susceptible to coffee diseases. As such, we see less and less single variety SL from Kenya year after year as farmers naturally choose to rely more on disease-resistant hybrids.   At the same time, SL-28 has made its way to Latin America, most notably Costa Rica and has shown up on various specialty farms over the past decade.  

Gesha

The famed and highly sought-after Gesha variety is originally from Ethiopia. It was transported to Latin America in the 1950s where it was noted for its tolerance to leaf rust. In 2005, the variety was "rediscovered" when it won that year's Best of Panama competition. Since then, it has gone on to break price records at auction year after year and has been planted by farmers across Latin America in hopes of securing high prices.

The variety itself is highly demanding, and it requires high elevations in order to really deliver the exceptional floral, jasmine and stone fruit cup characteristics it is so famous for. There are actually a number of genetically distinct varieties that carry the name Gesha, and most have been traced back to Landraces from the same geographic area in Ethiopia.

Sudan Rume

Sudan Rume is named after where it is thought to originate, near the South Sudan border.   While low yielding, it has been adopted for disease resistance and is thought to be one of the closest surviving relative to ancient Arabica. Sudan Rume has been celebrated in recent years for it's clean and expressive profile reminiscent of Ethiopian Landrace varieties.   It has been slowly adopted by specialty coffee producers in countries like Colombia, Ecuador, and, Costa Rica in recent years for its cup quality.