The Costa Rican Monte Crisol coffee from CoopePalmares is a natural style, sun-dried coffee. The term "50% Honey" refers to the process of sun drying the coffee in 50% of the fruit pulp, as opposed to washing the fruit away before sun drying on raised African drying beds. For the past two or three years, Sun-Drying Costa Rican coffee on raised African drying beds has become the way small micro-lot producers are distinguishing themselves from larger producers. By utilizing this labor intensive and more primitive method, the end result is small quantities of amazingly flavorful coffee. This rivals in every way the larger crops of more predictable and available kiln-dried coffee from Costa Rica.

Costa Rican coffee is clean and light in character, embodying the best of what can be accomplished when truly co-operative, modern farm communities develop clean and ecologically sound, forward thinking processing practices. This is an incredibly clean coffee, clear with the flavor of chocolate malt and deep sweet cherry. When hot, the coffee seems deceptively sweet, as it cools the flavor develops a more round and robust character. A strong, sharp, distinct taste of ripe coffee cherry pervades the entire cup. The aroma is particularly fresh; imagine sniffing a freshly opened cherry cola while sipping a sweet hot chocolate with a touch of malt, and you have an idea of what I'm talking about! Cupping this coffee brings back vivid memories of the Co-Op milling facilities and the pungent smell of mountains of composting coffee fruit.

This is the first of our Costa Rica Micro Lot coffee to be featured this year. This coffee is a stunning example of micro-lot attention to detail in processing. I highly recommend you sample this coffee.