Costa Rica Obata Natural – Finca Las Mercedes

Obata Natural is a microlot from Mela's Garden, the varietal program at Mela Gamboa's Finca Las Mercedes in Tarrazú. Obata was bred in Brazil from a Timor Hybrid and Costa Rica's own Villa Sarchi, so this is a coffee with Costa Rican roots that traveled abroad and came home. It's grown at 1,800 meters under shade trees and dried slowly in the sun on raised beds. The cup opens bright with key lime, settles into ripe papaya, and finishes on sweet tangerine. A rust-resistant, large-beaned varietal with real pedigree, and a cup to match.

• Certifications: Direct-Trade Partnership
• Flavor Notes: Key Lime, Papaya, and Tangerine
• Varietal: Obata (Timor Hybrid × Villa Sarchi)
• Processing: Natural Process
• Roast: Light Roast
• Drying: Sun-Dried on African Raised Beds
• Farm: Finca Las Mercedes (Mela Gamboa), San Marcos, Tarrazú
• Altitude: 5,900 Feet (1,800 m)

Obata: A Costa Rican Varietal That Came Home

Obata's story starts with Villa Sarchi, a compact Bourbon mutation found in the hills of Sarchí, Costa Rica. Crossed with the disease-resistant Timor Hybrid, it became the Sarchimor line. Brazilian breeders then refined that line into Obata. Family line: Timor Hybrid × Villa Sarchi → Sarchimor → Obata. The result keeps the bright character of its Costa Rican parent and adds resilience in the field and generous, large beans.

Planted for a Changing Climate

Mela planted Obata about 14 years ago, alongside its close relative San Isidro 48. She was looking for varieties with greater disease resistance and better productivity. Climate change weighed on the decision too: Obata was part of a longer-term plan to diversify Finca Las Mercedes with coffees that adapt to changing conditions without giving up quality. In Mela's words, these varieties are part of a strategy "to make the farm more resilient and sustainable."

Shade-Grown and Sun-Dried

Finca Las Mercedes, in the San Marcos district of Tarrazú, isn't a monoculture. Coffee grows among avocado, citrus, guava, plantain and banana trees under a regenerative, shade-grown system. Obata is handled as its own small lot and processed natural: whole cherries dry slowly and completely in the sun on African raised beds under close watch. That care draws out the tropical fruit and sweetness you taste in every cup.