Costa Rica | Volcan Azul | Specialty Coffee

About the farmer:
Alejo Castro is the fifth generation descendant of renowned coffee pioneers Alejo C. Jimenez and Wilhelm Kahle. Alejo’s ancestors planted some of the first specialty coffee plantations in the early 1900s with the aim to produce the best coffee in the world. With over 200 years of family tradition in trading specialty coffee, Alejo’s mission for the farm has been exclusively focused on improving coffee quality while making a positive impact on the environment.

The highly fertile volcanic soil combined with the mill’s impeccable processing methods have produced a history of awardwinning coffees in Costa Rica. This coffee from Volcan Azul has a balanced profile with juicy fruit flavours and high sweetness.

Processing:
Alejo explains ” The Red Honey, after measuring brix content we start harvesting the cherries. We separate floaters and then we depulp the cherries without washing the mucilage. We bring the coffee to the drying patio and let them still for one day so the mucilage gets stuck to the bean. After that we start stirring the coffee from 8am to 2pm and then cover it with plastic to maintain temperature during the night. This process lasts for around 11 days until it’s between 10.5-11% humidity. Then we rest the coffee for 1.5-2 months and start preparing it for export by hauling it and sorting it by size, density and colour”