Costa Rica Corazón de Jesús – natural anaerobic green coffee (1 kg)

Costa Rica Corazón de Jesús – natural anaerobic green coffee (1 kg)
Origin: Pérez Zeledón, San José
Producer: Alvarado Family, Finca El Salitre
Altitude: 1 300 m
Varieties: Catuai
Process: Natural anaerobic
Harvested: 2024/2025

In southern Costa Rica, where the Talamanca mountain range meets the gently sloping valleys of the Pacific coast, lies Pérez Zeledón – a region long overshadowed by its better-known neighbor Tarrazú, but one that has been gaining prominence on the specialty coffee map in recent years. Here, at Finca El Salitre at an altitude of 1,300 meters, the Alvarado Catuai family cultivates in a climate characterized by warm days, cool nights and stable rainfall patterns. Since 2015, the family has been running its own micro-mill, Corazón de Jesús, with an uncompromising focus on traceability, process precision and experimental post-processing. The results are clear: third place in the Cup of Excellence in 2022 and second place in 2024 – two achievements that not only confirm the family’s skill, but also underline how quickly a well-managed micro-mill can establish itself among the country’s top layers.

This micro-lot consists exclusively of Catuai – a variety resulting from a cross between Mundo Novo and Caturra, which in Costa Rica has proven to be particularly susceptible to advanced fermentation protocols. After selective hand-picking, the berries undergo floating separation, where unripe and underdeveloped fruits are removed. The selected berries are then placed in polypropylene bags for 48 hours of anaerobic fermentation – a controlled, oxygen-free environment where bacteria and yeast work without competition from oxidative processes, and where sugars and organic acids are transformed and bound into the bean in a deeper way than in conventional dry processing. Drying then takes place in two stages: first about ten days on cement patios with daily turning and nightly covering, then another fifteen days on raised beds until the moisture content stabilizes at 10.5%. It’s a labor-intensive process that places high demands on the producer – but rewards the home roaster with a green coffee of outstanding process purity, high thermal stability and clear aromatic transparency. The lot responds best to light to medium filter roasting, where the fruitiness is allowed to unfold without losing contact with the darker sweetness at the bottom.

In the cup, structure and freshness meet in a rare balance. A dense backbone of dark chocolate and rich caramel forms the foundation, on top of which fruity nuances of grape, orange and grapefruit lift the cup towards a lively, citrus-infused expression. The mouthfeel is round and juicy, and the finish is long – a syrupy sweetness that lingers and unites both sides of the cup. A raw coffee for the home roaster who seeks the full register of modern Costa Rican processing: the precision of the micro-mill, the depth of the anaerobic, and the ability of this part of the country to consistently deliver cups with both ambition and soul.

This green coffee arrived at the roastery on September 17, 2025 and is from the 2024/2025 harvest.