About This Coffee
Tarrazu, Costa Rica, is a region known for its high altitudes and superb quality coffee. La Playa means ‘beach’ in Spanish. What’s the connection? While it may seem somewhat incongruous to conjure ocean vibes when talking about coffee production, in this case, ‘La Playa’ refers to a popular local hangout, on the shores of a nearby riverbank where families from the surrounding community spend their free time.
La Playa was conceived with the cool Costa Rican vibe in mind. Easygoing and laidback, this coffee plays out well as an accessible single-origin choice for filter and espresso, or as a base for refined blends. Expect to find apple, chocolate and almonds in this coffee, with a fresh herbal touch.
Costa Rica coffee law – every farmer, every grower needs to sell to a mill and a mill by law needs to sell to an exporter. Small farmers such as those contributing to La Playa often only produce 10 bags of coffee a year. The Coffee Institute oversees every transaction and they have established how much each player can profit. About 82% (slight variations from year to year) of the FOB price goes to the producer.
La Playa is processed at Palmichal Micromill, an important partner for many specialty coffee producers in the Palmichal, Puriscal, Tarrazu and Frailes micro-regions in Costa Rica. Located in Palmichal, Costa Rica, the micro-mill began in the 2015-2016 harvest with 30 participating farmers participating.
The mill strives to serve farmers who grow unique coffees and quality-conscious importers & micro-roasters. They process cherry using meticulous quality-focused processing techniques. Their small-scale, artisanal model enables them to match coffees from smallholder farmers to roasters with specific quality and process requirements all while maintaining economic and physical traceability.
Cultivation
The majority of farmers contributing to this lot farm small plots of land of under one hectare. They cultivate mainly Caturra and Catuai at altitudes of 1,150 to 1,700 meters above sea level.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and delivered to Palmichal micro mill. Cherry is mechanically demucilaged to conserve water and lower the mill’s environmental impact. Then, parchment is dried in mechanical dryers that are temperature regulated by careful electric control systems that ensure a slow, even dry.
Costa Rican coffees are more expensive but they have a much lower impact on the environment. A mill that’s not properly regulated is really bad for the water. Wastewater is highly corrosive and will kill bigger animals and microorganisms all the way to the ocean and contribute to coral reef bleaching.
The water treatment system at Palmichal is cutting edge. Water use is very regulated and one of Palmichal’s commitments is to clean the water properly and making sure their environmental impact is minimal.
The mill has 23 solar panels generating 5.0 kWp. Due to its modular setup, the project can continue growing easily each year. The mill’s nursery has 330,000 plants and is looking to continue growing, making it one of the largest coffee nurseries in the county. The Palmichal nursery sells the plants to producers at cost. It also allows farmers to finance their future crops.
Our La Playa supply chain is a part of the NAMA Café de Costa Rica project, the first of the Costa Rican government’s Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). They’re actively working towards lower carbon emissions through investments in key technologies and methods. NAMA Café de Costa Rica is the first of its kind to support coffee farmers as they make changes to their coffee production to reduce overall emissions and resource use. Farms contributing to La Playa has received 10% back on carbon reduction investments.
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.