Country / District : Costa Rica, La Laguna de Tarrazú

Varietal: Red Catuaì

Process: Natural

Altitude: 1650 masl

Tasting notes: Zesty caramel, strawberry jam, Fig

Suggested for: Filter, Moka

More info about this coffee:

Finca La Promesa, managed by Vanessa Jiménez and Mario Moreno in La Laguna de Tarrazú, Costa Rica, sits at approximately 1,650 metres above sea level at 9.636656142101886, -84.01708054113818. The Moreno Jiménez family has focused on adopting controlled, safe methods to enhance coffee attributes while maintaining environmental responsibility, with the aim of offering clients high-quality Tarrazú coffee produced with care and dedication. During the harvest season the farm engages around 15 pickers and has approximately three manzanas of coffee under cultivation (about 21,000 square metres), yielding on average 40 fanegas per manzana for a total of roughly 120 fanegas per harvest. Key challenges include pronounced climate variability and elevated agricultural input prices. Investment plans centre on renovation towards more resilient varieties to improve both yield and cup quality, establishing new plantings to increase fruit production, and continuing the development and training activities of a research laboratory for controlled fermentations that began in 2022. A related social and environmental initiative uses this laboratory to provide a space for producers wishing to improve specialty processing practices in a safe and responsible manner.

All coffee is grown under regulated shade using species such as plantain, banana, Grevillea and poró, alongside fruit trees including avocado, mango and lemon. Nutrient management includes four fertilisations per year with chemical formulas such as 19-4-19, complemented by a vermicompost organic application. The farm undertakes annual pruning with post-harvest clean-up and performs replanting and renovation every year. The cultivated varieties include Catuai, Caturra, Pacamara, Catigua, H. Excelencia, Paraíso and Wush Wush. Water from the fruit flotation classifier is reused to irrigate pulp composting thanks to its microbiological load, producing a robust organic amendment; washed processes are not employed, and depulping is carried out with an ecological, low-water approach. Plant health is managed through foliar applications to prevent and control coffee leaf rust, anthracnose and American leaf spot (ojo de gallo), and through soil applications that stimulate growth and protect roots using bio-inputs such as Trichoderma.

Processing is conducted with precise controls. In the Red Honey method, cherries are first passed through flotation and ozonation, then through an eco-pulper without water to retain most of the mucilage; drying follows on African raised beds in the sun for approximately 15–20 days until a target moisture of 10.5% is reached. For Natural lots, after flotation and ozonation, whole cherries are sun-dried on raised beds for around 20–30 days to the same 10.5% moisture. Controlled fermentations begin with flotation and ozonation before transfer to bioreactors where temperature, agitation and pressure are regulated; fermentation time is guided by the growth curve of microorganisms isolated from the fruit for lactic or alcoholic fermentations, after which drying proceeds on raised beds for roughly 20–30 days to 10.5% moisture. Once optimal moisture is achieved, coffee is stored in sacks and GrainPro bags until orders are placed, then hulled and prepared; a minimum resting period of one month after drying is observed prior to dry milling. Traceability is documented throughout: post-harvest (winter) tasks record soil and foliar analyses, pruning, weed control, foliar applications, fertilisations, replanting and shade management; harvest (summer) records cover the reception of pickers, determination of optimal ripeness for specialty processes, daily picking volumes, transport to the processing plant, classification and ozonation, process selection (Red Honey, Natural or Controlled Fermentation), allocation to numbered African beds with recorded drying start dates, rotation during drying, achievement of the 10.5% storage moisture, protection in sacks and GrainPro, warehouse rest, typical lot and process counts, roasted-sample evaluation, sample distribution to potential buyers, and transfer to the dry mill for hulling, screen sizing, density separation and electronic colour sorting ahead of buyer delivery.

Beyond coffee, the farm cultivates no commercial secondary crops, maintaining only household-consumption plots. Climate change has been addressed through improved shade management to add organic matter and protect against solar stress. Financially, the farm is moderately stable; ongoing renovation temporarily reduces productivity and therefore income until new plantings begin producing, typically after three years, while field husbandry continues at a consistent standard to maintain overall farm health.