About a two-hour drive southbound from San José, Tar- razú is the coffee gold mine of Costa Rica: its mountain- eous landscape, lush of vegetation and well-defined seasons offer ideal conditions to grow coffee. Coffee plantations can be found at over 1,500 meters, allowing the coffee cherries to mature slow¬ly and express their full potential. While the average farm size is about 3 hectares, many coffee producers do not operate their own washing station but deliver their ripe cherries to a Beneficio – a wet-mill in Costa Rica. The unique flavors and tasting notes of the anaerobic and the natural microlots come from their special processing method. It all starts with handpicking very mature coffee cherries that have a Brix degree (a measurement of sugar content) near 26.

THE ANAEROBIC PROCESS

The coffee is depulped and put in stainless steel tanks with all its mucilage, which, in the absence of oxygen, pur- posely creates an anaerobic fermentation process. The process develops in a unique series of acids such as lactic and malic which will translate to a very complex flavor. Once ready the coffee is 100% sun dried.

THE NATURAL PROCESS

The natural processed coffee is the oldest method used in the world to dry coffee and is widely used in Brazil and Ethiopia as well as in producing regions where there is no abundant water. In this process, the coffee cher- ries stay up to one month drying normally in open patios. The naturals are only well produced in dry climates or when it is partially dried by machines which can boost the process and dry the coffee faster. This procedure maintains all the flavors in the beans giving to coffee a very fruity cup. On the other hand, natural coffees pre- sents low acidity due to the absence of fermentation during the drying process.