MEET THE PRODUCER | Located at the foot of Chirripo Volcano, the 3-hectare farm owned by Lica Torres and his family is one of only a few such courageous endeavours in Brunca, the southernmost growing region in Costa Rica. Conditions there aren't exactly idyllic: the soil is rocky, the incline steep, and the weather is often either a little too hot or a little too cold to grow any particular crop with tremendous success. Lica's father initially planted pine trees on the farm, but farming wood is a slow-going process that doesn't yield dividends very quickly.
Five years ago, Lica began to notice other families in the area growing coffee with some success, and he decided to take a big risk by planting a new, experimental hybrid coffee variety (called Milenio) on his farm, which sits at 1500 Masl. The gamble proved tremendously successful - and now we have the privilege of featuring one of his Milenio lots.
ABOUT THE PROCESS | The famed varietal Milenio is processed as an anaerobic natural. Uniquely, the floated cherries are sealed in stainless steel, with most of the fermented fruit liquid that is filled with yeasts and cultures from a previous lot to kickstart the fermentation process. This goes on for 24-48 hours, checking the pH and temperature twice daily until it reaches pH of 4.3, when the cherries are laid out to dry for 10 days in the sun. This process takes advantage of its environment and recycles what would’ve been bio-waste to an ingenious method of fermentation for greater consistency and flavour intensity.