Costa Rica Finca Los Naranjos Black Honey Microlot *TOP LOT*

This is an SHB EP Black Honey process microlot from Finca Los Naranjos in the Chirripó micro-region of southern Costa Rica.

THE PRODUCERS

Finca Los Naranjos is a 10ha farm owned and operated by Jeison Hidalgo and his family near the village of La Piedra in the micro-region of Chirripó. This Red Catuai microlot is grown at altitudes of 1,700masl. During the first years of the farm, coffee was combined with with tomato production while the coffee trees matured. The Hidalgo family has been developing as coffee growers ever since, putting lots of energy into the farm and focussing above all on quality. The coffee is processed at the local Café Rivense del Chirripó micromill.

Café Rivense del Chirripó is a family micromill founded by Régulo Ureña and Isabel Rojas in 2005. During their formative years, the family had to fight hard with many challenges: low international prices, lack of information on processing coffee, and financing for coffee projects. To setup this project in a region not known for specialty coffee had their neighbors predicting that they would fail. However through perseverance, faith in the project and lots of hard work the Ureña Rojas family to continue through a long road to be recognized as specialty coffee producers.

It’s fair to say their dedication and hard work paid off. In 2019 one of their microlots placed 5th in the Cup of Excellence; the first from the Brunca region to place in the COE top ten.

THE PROCESS

This lot utilises a Black - or “full” honey process. Only the ripest cherries are selected to ensure high sugar content. These are dry pulped with a high mucilage retention and transferred immediately onto raised African beds where they are sun-dried for an average of 12-15 days. All of the milling, grading and bagging is done on site, affording the family complete control of the post-harvest process through to export.

THE REGION

The Chirripó micro-region is developing a name for itself in the specialty coffee scene thanks to its high altitude - ranging from 1,300 to over 2,000masl - the rich of the soils, and fresh environment. It is located between two very high mountains: Cerro de la Muerte (3,491m) and Cerro Chirripó (3,820m., the highest in Costa Rica), the valley between these mountains creates a unique microclimate which is ideal for coffee cultivation. In recent years, the potential for specialty coffee the Chirripó micro-region has developed dramatically. This has contributed to an increase of land planted with coffee and it is projected that it will continue increasing in the coming years.