About this coffee
Tarrazu, Costa Rica, is a region known for its high altitudes and superb quality coee. La Playa means ‘beach’ in Spanish. What’s the connection? While it may seem somewhat incongruous to conjure ocean vibes when talking about coee production, in this case, ‘La Playa’ refers to a popular local hangout, on the shores of a nearby riverbank where families from the surrounding community spend their free time.
La Playa was conceived with the cool Costa Rican vibe in mind. Easygoing and laidback, this coffee plays out well as an accessible single-origin choice for filter and espresso.
Costa Rica coffee law – every farmer, every grower needs to sell to a mill and a mill by law needs to sell to an exporter. Small farmers such as those contributing to La Playa often only produce 10 bags of coffee a year. The Coffee Institute oversees every transaction and they have established how much each player can profit. About 82% (slight variations from year to year) of the FOB price goes to the producer.
La Playa is processed at Palmichal Micromill, an important partner for many specialty coffee producers in the Palmichal, Puriscal, Tarrazu and Frailes microregions in Costa Rica. Located in Palmichal, Costa Rica, the micro-mill began in the 2015-2016 harvest with 30 participating farmers participating.
Cultivation
The majority of farmers contributing to this lot farm small plots of land of under one hectare. They cultivate mainly Caturra and Catuai at altitudes of 1,150 to 1,700 meters above sea level.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and delivered to Palmichal micro mill. Cherry is mechanically demucilaged to conserve water and lower the mill’s environmental impact. Then, parchment is dried in mechanical dryers that are temperature regulated by careful electric control systems that ensure a slow, even dry.
Costa Rican coffee farmers and authorities pay careful attention to keeping the ecological footprint of cultivation and processing as low as possible.
