Costa Rica Monte Alto

Origin

• 🇨🇷 Costa Rica· Tarrazú

Tasting notes

Character

• Experimental
  50
• Funky
  40
• Bright
  30
• Clean
  20

Name: Monte Alto Origin: Tarrazu Varietal: Red CatuaiCatuaíA Brazilian cross of Mundo Novo and Caturra: short, productive, storm-resistant. Sweet, mild, dependable — everywhere in Brazil and Central America. Altitude: 2000 metres above sea level Process: NaturalNatural processThe whole cherry is dried with the fruit still on the seed. Gives heavier body and big fruit flavors — think berries and wine — sometimes with a fermenty edge. Flavours: Melon, Fruit Tea & Dark Chocolate Importer: Covoya About This Coffee Finca Monte Alto is one of two farms operated by Cafe Directo, a family business founded in 2013 by Father and daughter team, Gerardo and Jennifer Arias. The farm is dedicated to the production, processing, and marketing of the finest Costa Rican Tarrazú coffees in harmony with the environment. Directo’s vision is to contribute with the development of our society through fair and ethical trade. Its founders have over thirty years of experience in the production and processing of specialty microlots qualities including naturals, yellow, red, and black honeyHoney processThe skin is removed but some sticky fruit mucilage is left on during drying. Lands between washed and natural: more sweetness and body than washed, cleaner than natural., anaerobicAnaerobic fermentationCherries or depulped seeds ferment in sealed, oxygen-free tanks. Produces intense, unusual flavors — cinnamon, bubblegum, boozy fruit — that divide opinion., semi-washedWashed processThe fruit is removed from the seed before drying, usually with fermentation and a water rinse. Tends to give clean, transparent cups where origin character shows clearly. and fully washed processes. Monte Alto (literally, "high mountain") has, perhaps unsurprisingly, the higher altitude of the two farms with elevations up to 2,000masl, lending itself well to the production of highly complex arabica. The History of Costa Rican Coffee Coffee came to Costa Rica as early as 1779 and within 50 years was generating more revenue than any other crop, but by the 1830’s they were growing more coffee than the ships heading south could take. And virtually no infrastructure existed for transporting even a small amount of green coffeeGreen coffeeUnroasted coffee seeds as they are traded and shipped. Roasters buy green and roast locally; 'green buying' is the sourcing side of the craft. to the east coast of Costa Rica (where London was a mere 5,000 miles away). The distribution woes of Costa Rican coffee producers reached the ears of an up-and-coming shipping magnate named William Le Lacheur in 1841 and on Christmas day, 1841 he sailed The Monarch into port at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and thus began a long and mutually beneficial relationship. On one voyage to London in late in 1843, the Monarch carried more than half a million pounds of Costa Rican coffee. The Process This lot was naturally processed on patio and raised beds. First, cherries are selectively harvested by hand to select only ripest. These are then separated by floatation to