COSTA RICA - SAN FRANCISCO

COSTA RICA - SAN FRANCISCO

 

In an area known as ‘Los Santos ’ due to the fact so many villages and communities are named after saints, San Francisco can crop up a lot. This community is around 30 minutes ’ drive from the central processing headquarters of Coope Tarrazu in San Marcos, lying to the west of the town. Coffee is the primary economic activity in the area, although the oft-spotted coffee shop companion, avocado, is also grown here as a means of diversification. For the roughly 70 producers that deliver to the community lot, harvest used to start on the 1st of December. This has changed recently with the onset of climate change, being up to a month early in 2024. Whether these changes will become permanent is unknown but increases in rain and hail have changed yields with damages to the trees through hail, and loss of cherries with hard rains coinciding with peak ripeness knocking cherries to the ground. SAN FRANCISCO Costa Rica Cooperative CoopeTarrazú Community San Francisco Location Leon Cortes, Tarrazu Varietals Caturra, Catuai Higher prices have mitigated this somewhat -farmers are now keener to sell their cherry for washed processing as this is seen as a safer method than naturals and honeys, which can get spoilt with sudden showers or high humidity. The increase in washed prices offsets the premiums the naturals could provide. Despite this, the premium earned from producing this lot is still valuable, allowing for vital infrastructure and community initiatives to be built. These can be anything from improving water supply to providing a playground for local children. Cherries are collected at centralised receiving stations and deliveries are logged on a mobile app. This is connected to a system at the mill, that then dispatches a lorry to collect the cherry when ready. Separate collection silos deal with certified coffees, ripe cherry and green or lower qualities, so nothing gets mixed and traceability is preserved. Initial quality is checked on receipt, but further steps are included in the main mill processing downstream too.   

 

Cupping profile: Blueberry, caramelised, floral & vanilla

Process : Natural

Producer : Coope Tarrazu

Altitude : 1750 - 1950 MASL

 

Variety Arabica:  Catuai, Caturra