Costa Rica – Cerro San Luis Micromill – Finca La Amada – Lote La Roca – Red Catuai – Yellow Honey – Green Unroasted

About: Cerro San Luis Micromill is a family business run by two siblings and their spouses, who own and operate both farms and a small mill in Grecia, in the West Valley. In the interest of improving their quality and remaining competitive, they have focused on growing different varieties, and about 4 years ago they replaced their older stock with 10 or more different types of coffee, including Caturra, Red and Orange Bourbon, SL-28, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, and Maragogype.

The family’s farms are adjacent to one another, but the plots are given separate names for lot separation purposes, and the mill is located at the family home, just a few miles away.

After harvesting, the cherry is brought right to the family home, where they are able to do a variety of different processes, from washed and honeys to natural. As is common at mills in Costa Rica, at Cerro San Luis the type of honey is decided by how much mucilage is left on the coffee after depulping.

• • White Honey: 80-100% mucilage removed
  • Yellow Honey: 50-75% mucilage removed – Coffee is turned hourly on raised beds for a few days, then transferred to a greenhouse and turned regularly.
  • Red Honey: <50% mucilage removed – Coffee is turned several times a day and dried for longer in the greenhouse.
  • Black Honey: As little mucilage removed as possible – Coffee is turned once a day.
  • Perla Negra Natural: Coffee dries directly in the sun for 10 days, rotating constantly, and then is transferred to bags and left for 2–3 days before being moved to raised beds.
  • Alma Negra: Drying starts in the greenhouse for a few days. Then it is brought to the greenhouse and piled up at night and moved to the raised beds during the sunshine hours.

*Microlot Coffee Offerings: Farmers are paid quality premiums for any microlot coffee, which reflects the extra planning, effort, labor, and attention to detail required to produce them, as well as rewarding the ultimate job well done.

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