Tastes Like: Chamomile, Honeycomb, Bergamot Tea
Cerro San Luis is a family operation by the Delgado Siblings, Magali and Alexander along with their spouses. They are fourth-generation producers – fifth if you count their children. Cerro San Luis is a wet and dry mill, a lab, a greenhouse with African raised beds, and six coffee farms.
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 SL-28, Caturra, Red and Orange Bourbon, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, and Maragogype. This lot is an SL-28 from their El Venado farm.
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.
The family has developed the White Honey process where freshly harvested and sorted cherries are delivered to the mill and promptly depulped. After this, the coffee is placed directly onto raised beds for a few days at a minimal thickness and then transferred to a covered patio where it is turned regularly until the drying process is complete.
We were amazed by the high quality flavours expressed in this lot. The combination of variety and post-harvest techniques accentuates a great balance of acidity and sweetness while also bringing out floral notes that reminded us of a classic washed Geisha.
