Maria Mayela’s farm, El Cafetal, has been part of her big family since 1989, providing high quality coffee. At 1700 meters above sea level, the farm’s elevation creates the distinct flavors as well as the volcanic environment, providing the unique, authentic and prolific flavor profile.
“The consumer in Costa Rica had access to the highest quality of coffee”, explained Quesada. For this reason, El Cafetal provides grain which was cultivated and processed in the Cafetal agricultural farm, located in Lourdes de Cirrí, Naranjo, among the hills, whose altitude allows to achieve very high quality in the production.
In addition, the farm has its own microbeneficio as one of the steps to have full control of the quality of the product. This allows you to sell directly to international buyers and not go through the stage of exporters.
Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Costa Rica Cafetal Honey, from Klatch Coffee in Upland, California. Feel free to pull up a chair.
the basics:
region: Valley Occidental, Costa Rica
farm/factory: El Cafetal M.E.D.N.S.A
producer: Maria Mayela Quesada
association: N/A
elevation: 1700 meters above sea level
cultivars: Caturra, Catuai
process: honey process
certifications: standard
the coffee:
The Costa Rica Cafetal has a delicate, soft, and perfumed aroma that gently brushes against the tip of the nose with sweet notes of honeysuckle, rose hips, citrus, and cherry.
Diving into the coffee and my taste buds are initially greeted by a hint of roast, but that is immediately followed by flavors of honey and vanilla. A touch of earth, a dash of wood, and a whole lot of silky floral aromatics bring up the rear of sip, making for a “natural” finish.
As it cools off, sweetness takes over as juicy fruits round out the bottom of the cup. Very nice notes of cherry, red delicious apple, watermelon, grape, apricot, white peach, nectarine, and a very sweet, bright clementine acidity.
Light body; creamy mouthfeel; citrus acidity; clean finish.
the bottom line:
Not bad, not bad. The Costa Rica Cafetal Honey, from Klatch Coffee, is a sweet, honeyed coffee that is really pleasant on the palate. However, it’s not a coffee that really wows/dazzles/impresses my palate. It’s good. Not great, but good.
What I recommend for this coffee is heavy concentration. Fine grind, less water, more saturation; as a brewer you really need to extract the fullness of its flavors, otherwise you will probably be underwhelmed.
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Andrew is a husband, father, dog lover, craft beverage enthusiast, content creator, and niche market Internet celebrity. Formerly of A Table in the Corner of the Cafe and The Pulitzer Project and contributor to Barista Magazine and Mental Floss, he’s been writing on the Internet for years.