Costa Rica Sumava Cherry Reposado

Costa Rica Sumava de Lourdes | Cherry Reposado

Producer: Francisco Mena

Region: West Valley, Costa Rica

Cultivar: Villa Sarchi

Elevation: 1700 MASL

Process: Washed / 48-hour cherry cold rest / Anaerobic fermentation

Producer Partnership: Since 2009

Tasting Notes: Red Plum / Sangria / Brown Sugar

This “cold-rested” lot of Villa Sarchi from Francisco Mena’s West Valley farm is a special treat. It’s grown on the highest part of Sumava de Lourdes farm, where wind and fog keep temperatures cool enough for coffee cherries to ripen slowly, allowing sugars and complex flavors to develop within the cherry and its seeds. Francisco and his team harvest this plot of Villa Sarchi at peak ripeness in the late afternoon. Immediately after harvest, the cherries are loaded into breathable mylar sacks which are then placed under shade trees for a 48-hour whole-cherry rest, or reposado. This extra step allows the cherries an additional “cold” ripening that further develops sugars and flavors before being washed and transferred to tanks for a short anaerobic fermentation. The coffee is then carefully dried on tented raised beds. The reposado technique creates a sweet, fruited depth to this coffee reminding us that the scope of flavors in coffee is broad and ever-changing.

Cherry reposado is a technique borrowed from French winemakers who will often store bins of just-harvested grapes (mostly whites) overnight inside their cool, dark wine caves, allowing the fruit to rest for a night or two before being sorted and pressed. Here too, the technique is intended to add depth and dimension to the final profile. Whatever the beverage, we think resting fruit before processing seems to be a winning technique.