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Costa Rica - San Juanillo Carbonic Maceration Natural
14 reviews
GBP
Costa Rica - San Juanillo Carbonic Maceration Natural
Varietal – Marsallesa
Preparation – 48hr Carbonic Maceration Natural
Location – Naranjo, West Valley
Altitude – 1600 masl
This is a truly unique and distinctive coffee produced specifically for us by our friends at San Juanillo and the Patalillo micro mill. The carbonic maceration process involves fermenting coffee in large containers with a one way valve. This enhances the fermentation process and helps to create some incredible flavours.
Costa Rica is one of our favourite coffee producing countries, and we love being able to trade directly with producers via the help of Selva Coffee. Selva is a small export business based in Tarrazu with their own cupping lab and direct connections to some of the best coffee producers in the country. Costa Rica is a beautiful country know for its focus on environment and sustainability, and this is very evident in the coffee industry. Coffee from Costa Rica can showcase many different processing styles and flavour profiles from wild, juicy natural process coffees to soft, delicate honey processed coffees. Some small producers and co-operatives also produce washed coffees, and experimental processes like anaerobic fermentation have also become very popular.
We first bought coffee from San Juanillo farm in 2019 and managed to fit in a visit in February 2020 just before Covid-19 put a halt to all international air travel.
Farm Overview:
Tomas Gutierrez and Allan Vargas bought the farm in 2007 intending to regenerate the landscape, soil and to plant new and exciting varietals. The farm was originally planted with Caturra and Catuai trees. Tomas and Allan were keen to try out new varietals that showed better resistance to disease and those that show interesting cup character. They now grow a range of varietals including Marsellesa, H1 Centroamericano, Caturra, Catuaí and a small amount of Geisha. In 2018 they purchased their neighbours' farm increasing their total farm size to 12 hectares, and they are Rainforest Alliance certified. In 2015 they placed 19th in the Cup of Excellence competition with a coffee from their H1 hybrid varietal.
Harvesting and Processing:
This coffee was hand-harvested from the Marsallesa varietal trees on the farm. Tomas and Allan employ a team of highly skilled pickers who are paid a premium for selecting only the ripest cherry. Many of these pickers travel to work in Costa Rica from Panama and Nicaragua. They are highly valued for their hard work and dedication during the harvest.
After harvesting the coffee is transported to the Patalillo micro mill. The coffee cherry is floated in a fermentation tank to remove any defective cherry and then placed into sealed drums with a one-way pressure release valve and fermented for 48 hrs. The coffee was then moved to raised drying tables inside a polytunnel to dry as a natural processed coffee.
Tasting Notes:
Post-harvest coffee processing can contribute some incredible and unusual flavours. This is an example of a coffee that tastes so incredibly different due to the carbonic maceration process. The results are truly stunning! This is a natural processed coffee with fantastic flavours. Tasting notes include prune, white grape and honey.
Brewing:
This coffee works well for all brew methods.
Filter: Dose 15g, water 250g.
Espresso: Dose 17 gram to 40 gram yield over about 30 seconds.
This coffee is available as whole bean and pre-ground, but we recommend always grinding fresh before brewing. We sell a range of grinders if you would like to grind this coffee fresh at home.
another brilliant coffee, tasting notes spot on. So many good roasters out there , the bar is high but Horsham are always excellent. One of the best !
c
cheryl buck
My fav to date
Really like this 3rd order. Smooth but depth in my aeropress ,espresso with small milk .Think the carbonic laceration process is one I really like 👌
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Peter
Superb
This coffee has superb taste . I love it . Good job HCR 😎
D
Daniel Echeverria
Favourite coffee, great taste.
I am a huge fan of the Carbonic Maceration coffees but this one in particular is outstanding. Best coffee I have ever tasted.
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Ruth Crowther
Finally found a coffee I like!
After changing to coffee beans from a pod machine I couldn’t find a coffee I liked as much. Realised the pods were Costa Rican coffee so tried yours in desperation and voila! Fantastic!
Have used this blend (whole beans) over a number of months for my morning v60. Very consistent quality, rich in flavour and body. Highly recommended for v60 coffee.
Well previous reviewer pretty much nailed this … I like my coffee from aeropress but espresso style but with milk … short flat white I guess… I’ve tried quite a few coffees from Horsham as they appear , my fav to date being San Juanillo carbonic maceration bean ….This is the most different flavour I’ve ever tasted ,very complex and too hard for me to nail specific notes but mind blowingly different … a unique taste experience ,will order some more and enjoy .. Not for the faint of heart ,a truly different cup of coffee to be savoured …
Amazing production .
A delightful espresso. Excellent rounded taste. Just right. Horsham ship very reliably and you get rewards to reduce the cost of your next batch. One small request to the roasters - could you use plastic free packaging?