Swerl – LA GUACA [Experimental] – Costa Rica

This is the second year that we collaborate with the Ureña Rojas Family, and we present you with a sealed fermentation red honey-processed Catuai that is mouth-watering.

The processing of this coffee is quite specific, with a lot of thought to save water which is quite scarce in the area while keeping the process controlled.

After the cherries are sorted, they are pulped without water in a completely dry process to avoid any fast ferment on the mucilage.

The cherries are then pre-dried in rise beds for five days concentrating the sugars in the mucilage. After this they are put in sealed plastic bags with limited presence of oxygen under shade for one week resulting in a controlled fermentation.

The last step is to finish drying the coffee beans in a mechanical drier during at a constant temperature of 30 – 45 degrees that replicates the temperature the coffee gets over the beds on a sunny day.

Café Rivense is a family-run micro mill, established in 2005 by Regulo Ureña and Isabel Rojas. All their sons – Ricardo, Mario, Esteban and Luis – are deeply involved in running the farm that is located in mid-southern part of Costa Rica, in a micro region called Chirripó.

With each family member working on specific tasks they specialize in, the farm is incredibly well organized. Through the years of sustainable growth they have managed to take control of every step of the coffee production, from picking the cherry, through processing and dry milling, to loading and sealing the container which they export independently.

The biodiversity on the farm is amazing, with many indigenous plants and trees all over the plantations. The system of proper shade management, fertilization based on annual soil analysis, a truly minimal usage of water during the processes and a full traceability of the final products is something that makes this family exceptional producers.