About This Coffee
Miguel has been cultivating high-quality specialty coffees since the early 2000s, when he joined Helsar de Zarcero micromill in the Llano Bonito de Naranjo microregion. His goal is to produce and harvest excellent quality cherry through the use of optimum agricultural practices. Helsar de Zarcero micromill then takes his cherry and processes it with the utmost care, preserving the unique attributes imbued by his fastidious stewardship and specific environmental conditions.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and delivered to Helsar de Zacero Micromill in West Valley. The mill originally focused on Organic certification coffees and now processes specialty coffees of all sorts. Their focus on traceable, high-quality processing makes them a great choice for processing this Yellow Honey lot from Miguel Rojas.
Cherry is visually inspected and pulped on an ecopulper. Water regulations in Costa Rica are very strict, so ecopulpers are a must. Once it's pulped, parchment and remaining mucilage is laid to dry on a covered patio. While drying, parchment is raked frequently to ensure it dries evenly. After 3 to 4 days, it's transferred to mechanical drum driers and dried for 36 to 48 hours at 45 to 50 degrees Celsius.
Coffee in Costa Rica
Thanks to tireless innovations, the sheer number of coffee varieties, extensive technical knowledge and attention to coffee production, Costa Rica is one of the most advanced coffee producing countries in Central America.
The climatic conditions in the country also play a role in the high quality of coffee produced. There are eight coffee regions: Guanacaste, West Valley, Turrialba, Valle Central (Central Valley), Tres Rios, Brunca, Orosi, and Tarrazú, a specific part of Valle Central.
Costa Rica has also become a world leader in traceability and sustainability in coffee production. Ninety percent of the country’s 50,000 coffee farmers are smallholders, and today, many deliver their cherry to boutique micro-mills that often process cherries according to producer specs to retain single-lot or single-farm qualities.
The rise of micro-mill processing, in itself, is a relatively recent development. Prior to the early 2000s it was common for smaller producers to deliver their cherry to cooperative-owned mills. As lucrative specialty markets developed, more and more farmers began establishing mills on their own farms, giving them increased control over processing and more assurance of the ‘traceability story’ so important to the growing market segment. Mills with excess capacity would then offer their services to neighboring farmers, offering a range of processing methods for small lots along with full traceability for roasters and importers. The system has enabled Costa Rica’s small to mid-sized coffee farmers to offer a wide range of differentiated products. Today, specialty lots from Costa Rica are almost as likely to bear the name of the micro-mill where they were processed as that of the producing farm.
The typically uncertain and dry weather patterns in Costa Rica make coffee farming more difficult. Long dry seasons and unpredictable weather patterns have virtually eliminated the possibility of organic farming. Nonetheless, both the government and farmers have taken active steps to protect the environment. Some of these restrictions also inform the processing methods for which Costa Rican coffee has become known.