Carlos Montero Typica Natural (Costa Rica)

Flavour Description: Berries, Pecan, Floral, Syrupy 

Producer: Carlos Montero.

Region / Country: Costa Rica.

Varietal: Typical.

Process: Natural Process.

Lot Name: Tematica.

Roast Level: Medium.

Roasters Notes: This is our favourite coffee of the year. We have roasted this coffee to a medium level which accentuates the berry like sweetness and floral complexity. There's a soft gentle acidity with a pleasantly lingering caramelised pecan sweetness which is mouth coating. Best brewed as filter coffee or espresso.

Tematica, which means “subject” in Spanish, is the plantation surrounding the Don Eli Mill in El Llano de la Piedra. Here is where Carlos began planting small amounts of unique varieties such as the Typica. It used to be a very old farm that was practically abandoned and Carlos rehabilitated it using bio diverse practices. The nearly 100 year old trees that were already in the farm are an Heirloom African Land Race. Today, Carlos and Jacob continue to manage the farm bio diversly, planting rare varieties, and carefully processing the special coffees from Finca Tematica.

Processing:

Natural - When processing naturals it’s very important for Jacob to pay special attention to the initial drying phase. So, for the first few days the cherries are moved constantly in order to prevent too much fermentation. After a week, when the cherries look dryer they move them with a rake-like tool about every hour during the day and it takes roughly between 22 days and one month, depending on the weather, for the coffee to dry to its optimal moisture content. It’s very important for Jacob and Carlos after drying is done to let the coffee rest in the warehouse for about one month, especially the Natural process which seems to develop a lot of flavors while being in dried cherry for a month or so