We are back with another great coffee from the Tarrazu coop, last year we really enjoyed 4 Sisters and Candelilla estate, This lot has notes of red apple, milk chocolate, orange, brown sugar and spice.

In 1960 a group of 228 small coffee producers in San Marcos de Tarrazú came together to establish Coopetarrazú. At this time they came together with the goal of establishing equal profits and a voice for small producers, something that was previously dominated by large producers in the region. This coop has grown to become one of the most important contributors to the economic development of the Los Santos region of Tarrazú. Today the Coop assists its more than 5,000 members with technical assistance, low-cost loans, and affordable fertilizers. About 80% of their members are small producers with farms of 4 hectares or less. They employ approximately 10,000 people throughout the year, either directly in coffee production or in supporting roles, allowing Coopetarrazú to control the entire production process for their coffee from harvest through sorting, milling and exporting. This level of control allows for constant evaluation which leads to consistent quality year after year.

Washed process coffee might be one of the most common forms of coffee processing, but that doesn’t mean that this coffee isn’t special. The process starts with picking the cherries at their peak ripeness. In most growing regions this is done by a nomadic people group who travel the area following the harvest. Most farms pay them by the pound, specialty farms will sometimes hire their own staff and pay people hourly or daily. This is just a small step to improve quality. Next those ripe cherries get depulped, this act strips the fruit and mucilage off the beans and prepares them for the next phase. During the next step they get washed and fermented in tanks for a day or so. After this we go to the drying phase. this can happen a couple different ways. Popular options are raised beds, patio drying and machine dryers. For this coffee they patio dried them, they spread all the coffee out on a big patio and let the sun do its job. Once it is dry enough, they will strip the shell off the bean and bag it, then it is ready to ship!

Coffee Summary:

Processing: Fully Washed

Drying method: Mechanical Dry

Cultivar detail: Caturra, Catuai

Elevation: 1300 Meters

Cupping Notes: Apple, Milk Chocolate, Orange, Brown Sugar, Fall Spices