Costa Rica La Candelilla "Miel"

Sweet Maria's Coffee

La Candelilla is an estate located in La Sabana on the River Pirris, west of San Marcos de Tarrazu and 35 miles SE of San Jose. The coffee is grown at an altitude of between 1,200 and 1,900 meters (very high for Costa Rica). It's an old farm; La Candelilla was established by Victor Mora around 1900, while the mill was opened by the current owners, Rafael and Lucia Sanchez, in the summer of 2000. The owners of La Candelilla are committed to environmentally friendly policies in the cultivation and processing of the good quality coffee. And they are willing to take on some unusual processing techniques, which is what we have here. This is a "Miel" coffee, processed using a Brazil-style method called Pulp Natural. "Miel" (meaning honey) is rare (and risky) in Central America. When it was good, this coffee had great body, a husky sweet "wild-honey" cup with moderate acidity. It is great as a brewed/press coffee, it is great as straight espresso (if the brightness/acidity in the cup can be moderated by roasting technique), it is great in espresso blends, especially with top quality Brazils. To do this method, you pulp the skin off the coffee cherry, and without removing the fruity mucilage layer, sun-dry the remaining seed. The long contact the fruit has with the parchment layer changes the character of the green coffee inside the parchment, and has this unique effect on the cup. The Candalilla estate pulped natural "Miel" is different from the El Salvador we have had. I cupped this coffee the traditional way at several degrees of roast, the darker ones intended more for my espresso machine than brewing. But the aromas from the dark roasts were so unique, with the expected carbony pungency, but also lively spice aromas, sweet and fruited. At City+ roast the coffee had the husky "miel" sweetness to it. With more roast, warming spice and chocolate emerged to back up the fruits. Darker roast Costa Ricans have never made sense to me as brewed coffee (they get too thin, too insipid) but here were darker (FC+ to light Vienna) roasts that had heft, complexity, and great body. There's a waxy, oily mouthfeel to back up the considerable complexity. I did not go to Full French on this (I never do, even my espresso isn't roasted that dark), and the real peak of flavor was about 15 seconds into 2nd crack on my drum sample roaster. In espresso, the Candelilla is a bit acidic for a straight shot (since it is a true Tarrazu coffee from high elevation), but is great as a 33% component in espresso blends. You can also roast it in a way that mutes the acidity a bit, and get good single-estate espresso shots.

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For more information on this product, visit Sweet Maria's Coffee's website.

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