Costa Rica Tarrazu Santa Elena Estate

The coffee plantation of Santa Elena extends over 750 acres in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, southwest of San Jose. Taparto Tarrazu grows where the "mountains touch the clouds"-at a height of 4300 to 5000 feet. Here the volcanic soil, rich in the dolomite providing proper percolation and the ideal pH, combine with the perfect balance of rain and sun to produce coffee beans of distinctive body, aroma and size. The coffee is harvested during the Cost Rican summer, November to February. The Caturra beans are pruned in a five-year rotating cycle. Poro, Eucalyptus and Cypress trees provide shade for the plants, shelter to many species of birds and additional organic material to the rich soil. Water is clean and plentiful. Only ripe cherries are hand picked and processed in Santa Elena's own beneficio (coffee mill), built and first operated in 1953 by ex-president Pepe Figueres Ferrer. In the very first step of processing, red and ripe cherries poured into the flotation tank are rejected if the float, regardless of how perfect they may look. Only those with proper consistency and density will produce the superior quality of taparto coffee. After de-pulping, the beans are transferred to the woods tanks for fermentation for 36 hours. The temperature inside the tanks id held stable by the wooden bottoms. After fermentation, they are washed with clean, fresh water screened to remove the pulp, mucilage and mud that may be present. The water is deacidified, returned to the river and the screened material added as a good fertilizer to the soil. the beans are again classified by weight. After drying to the proper moisture content and uniform color, the coffee remains in pergamino (parchment), conditioned in wooden warehouses kept at perfect temperatures and properly aerated. This "resting stage" or reposo, improves the cup quality, gives a consistent green color to the coffee and improves its storage life. Each bean is carefully hulled prior to shipping, screened by size and weight, and sorted to remove defective or inferior beans. Years of experience, stringent attention to production and uncompromising standards of quality have combined with blessed natural resources of the soil the environment to produce a green bean of exquisite and unique flavor.

Cupping Notes: This Tarrazu offers an exceptionally brisk citrus acidity and a perfectly clean finish.

Varietal: Caturra

Processing: Wet Processed (WP)

Grade: Strictly Hard Bean (SHB)

Crop Year: 2012