Tasting Notes:
Pineapple
Jasmine
Cherry
Farm:Aquiares Estate
Region: Turrialba, Cartago Province
Processing: Experimental - Anaerobic with coffee flower yeast innoculation
Variety: Centroamericano (hybrid of Sudan Rume and Sarchimor)
Altitude:1200-1400m
Description:
Founded in 1890, Aquiares Estate is one of Costa Rica’s largest coffee producers, but it’s more of a community than a farm. Nestled within the farm is the small town of Aquiares, home to almost 2,000 people. In an effort to promote home ownership in the community, the farm gave bonuses to all workers and offered assistance applying for loans. As a result, over 96% of the farm workers are homeowners. Aquiares is also a leader in sustainable coffee farming. Their approach to farming is wholistic, applying ecological principles and seeking to build soil and plant health. They’ve planted over 50,000 shade trees, 20% of the farm is dedicated exclusively to conservation, and they’re certified Carbon-Neutral. They also conduct research in the farm to push the industry forward, and they’ve even created new hybrid varieties. They have an entire “Varieties Garden” dedicated to testing new kinds of coffee for their resilience and flavour. This Centroamericano variety is a hybrid of the Ethiopian Rume Sudan and the Central American Sarchimor. This is our fifth year buying the Centroamericano from Aquiares, and every year we buy all three processes (washed, red honey, and natural). This year we also purchased this experimental iteration of the Centroamericano, a flower culture process. This processing method makes use of the coffee plant’s flowers which bloom after Caribbean rains. The team at Aquiares collected some of these blossoms and isolated their wild yeasts. This microbial culture was then used to inoculate the tanks where the coffee cherries ferment for 3 days. The process closes the loop of the growing and processing cycle – cherries are fermented in yeasts of the flowers from which they ripened. Unsurprisingly, this inoculation imparts a floral quality to the coffee. It reminded us of the jasmine tea-like quality of washed Ethiopian coffees. The bright syrupy qualities of the Centroamericano variety still shine through, reminding us of fresh pineapple or wild cherries. A unique cup start to finish, we’ve been loving the result of this fun experimentation with one of our favourite varieties from this farm.