• Costa Rica Volcan Azul SL28

Costa Rica Volcan Azul SL28 Exotic One Roast

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Costa Rica Volcan Azul SL28 Exotic Filter

Costa Rica Volcan Azul SL28 Exotic Filter

Limited Edition

I am excited to share Costa Rica Volcan Azul SL28 Exotic again. This year, the coffee is (in my opinion) the most balanced yet and leans towards a cleaner and more refined cup, with precision processing. As I have written before: Alejo once said, “My best micro-lot should be the last one I produce in my life”. This is from the man (family) who consistently delivers the Cup of Excellence, winning lots, year after year. For other SL28s, we still have one from Ngila Estate if you would like to compare.

This is in my top coffees of 2024.  We have had some great coffees this year too….as you may remember. Thank you, if you have been part of the journey.

Top Trumps

Farmer: Alejo Castro

Farm Volcan Azul

Area: Alajuela, Costa Rica.

Established: 1850, 5th generation farm.

Hectares: 55

Altitude: 1540-1720 Meters above sea level

Varietal; SL28  Most famous for making great Kenya’s blackcurranty.

Process: Natural

Recipe 50-70g a litre

Roast: Filter.

Cup Potential: Filter

Aromatics: Currants and citrus curd| Body: Medium- creamy on cooling| Acidity: Blackcurrant, grapefruit|

Sugar! From the get-go, this coffee is busy in a fantastic way. Ripe, soft, boozy currants and citrus, opening up into a coffee world of evolving sugars. This profile is subtle and ripe, punctuated by a grapefruit finish which naturally occurs in blackcurrants and well produced SL28s too. On cooling this is “better than the real thing”. The coffee is sweet and so slightly boozy, blackcurranty with a long sherbet and grapefruit finish. The processing is subtle and makes this one of the most balanced, sweet SL28s.

Espresso Recipe

94C and upwards.

17-18g of coffee into 40-50g if espresso liquid in 30-35 seconds. I feel the need to write “ish” as we could make 15g work as well as 19g. 93C could work too, if that was your world. This was a great version of the coffee, with surprisingly (relatively) low acidity.

In Milk: 9oz was ripe, currants and lactic-toffee like. 6oz was a little more intense and a touch of cocoa. All just pleasant and easy drinking no wild weirdness that may have been the case with some previous processes.

Farm Info:

Before I start waffling about this coffee, there is a real threat in accessing the SL varietals in Kenya, where the famed blackcurrant coffee was first grown, up to 100 years ago.Today Coffee Berry Disease and rust issues are making it very difficult to grow there. As opposed to simply competing with other producers in different parts of the world, Alejo has been processing the SL28 in innovative ways over the last years. We can buy a nano lot like this and buy up to 150Kgs, alongside the other coffees we buy from him.

Volcan Azul is a 5th-generation farm, producing many different single varietals and processes. The long game is the aim of quality, which we especially like at James Gourmet. The whole process is controlled by the farm and the operation is relatively small. These are all things that work for us. Coffee on a human scale with a history.

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