PERC Coffee // Costa Rica Flor de Cafe

Herbazu, owned by the Barranted family, was a pioneer with their micromill at the beginning of the 2000s. They were selling to Starbucks back then at good prices.

Don Carlos of La Perla Del Cafe spun off Herbazu, put in his own mill, and currently owns five farms. He only produces about 250 bags a year but wanted to control his quality all the way and also have his wife and two daughters involved in the business, hence opening his own impressive operation.

He was the first to get the SL28 seeds in Costa Rica and gave them away selflessly to his fellow producers to help everyone improve their coffee quality and be leaders in coffee innovation in the region. He will also have Geisha production in the coming years.

His work in quality is impeccable as he sees his coffee like wine. He truly only picks ripe cherries or “Sangre de Toro” (Bull’s Blood) as it is coined in Costa Rica and doesn’t let anyone in his drying patio with dirty shoes.

Welcome to my Table, here in the corner of this cafe. Today we’re sipping the Costa Rica Flor de Cafe, from PERC Coffee in Savannah, Georgia. Feel free to pull up a chair.

THE BASICS:

region: Lourdes de Naranjo, West Valley, Costa Rica
farm: Flor de Cafe
producer: Don Carlos
association: N/A
elevation: 1500 meters above sea level
cultivars: Villa Sarchi
process: golden honey, patio dried
certifications: standard

THE BREW:

method: Bonmac
grind: slightly fine (19, Preciso)
coffee: 32g
water: 450mL
bloom: 1:00
pour: 1:30 (“Z” pattern, back and forth)

THE COFFEE:

The aroma of the Costa Rice Flor de Cafe is pungently sweet and tart, as scents of grapes, green apple, and honey waft out of the cup.

The first sew sips of the cup immediately post-brew lazily ooze onto the palate with a thick, syrupy mouthfeel. For a medium-bodied coffee, it packs quite a wallop—particularly in the flavor department; it sings as much as it bellows. The high notes are very high—sparkling and effervescent and juicy and crisp notes of Granny Smith apple, white grape, strawberry, and cherry—while the low notes are really heavy, dense, deep, and honeyed with massive notes (and texture) of molasses and raisin.

As it cools off, all of those individual flavors continue to come together, taking on a more candy apple or Laffy Taffy flavor. But a few new tastes introduce themselves at this point, particularly in the finish: macadamia, brown sugar, cinnamon, velvet, and a touch of cookie dough.

Medium body; syrupy mouthfeel; malic acidity; clean finish.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Once again, PERC Coffee teams up with Costa Rica and delivers one of the best coffees we’ve had here at the Table all year long.

Their Costa Rica Flor de Cafe is a fantastic coffee; one that is incredibly flavorful, incredibly well-balanced, and incredibly clean with a crystalline clarity.

I couldn’t get over how dynamic this coffee was, too. In all honesty, if I cupped this one blind, I would have thought it was an Ethiopian coffee .

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Andrew

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.