Anne traveled to Costa Rica in February to visit coffee farms and micromills, and to work with our direct trade partners.

February is an important time to visit the coffee farms in Costa Rica. It allows us to gauge harvest, reconnect with our producers, and to cup coffees from this year’s harvest to make our buying decisions.

During this year’s visit, Anne visited producers and mills in five of Costa Rica’s eight growing regions. For the first time, Anne traveled throughout the Brunca region in southern Costa Rica. This region is known for Cerro Chirripo, Costa Rica’s tallest peak at nearly 13,000 feet. This is a relatively new region that is known for producing distinctive, full bodied coffees.

February is the peak of the specialty coffee harvest. This month producers have experienced unusual rainfall which has complicated the harvest in some regions. In the south the rainfall has brought about the flowering of coffee trees earlier than normal. After the coffee tree has flowered coffee cherries will begin to grow.

Have you had a chance to try our new Direct Trade coffee, Costa Rica La Lia Finca Dragon? This exceptional coffee comes from the award winning farm of Finca Dragon. This micro lot is exclusive to Red Cedar Coffee Co.

Finca Dragon is located at 1800 meters in Santa Rosa in León Cortés, about a 2 ½ hour drive from San Jose in the Tarrazú region. Luis Alberto Monge is the producer and owner of the farm and micromill. The micromill, named La Lia after Luis’ mother, was built in 2007. By owning a micromill the family can separate the coffee varietals and process the coffee using various methods. Most importantly, the micromill allows Luis to ensure that his coffee is being processed carefully and at the highest attention to detail.

 

The coffee varietal is red catuai and our coffee has been processed using the honey (miel) process. After the coffee has been processed the coffee is sun dried. The micromill has raised African beds along with patios for drying.

Check out our video to learn more about our Direct Trade relationship with Finca Dragon.