Volcan Azul Caturra

Volcan Azul is a natural Caturra from our friends at The Barn in Berlin, and it's a big, fruit-heavy cup from Costa Rica's West Valley.

The Castro Kahle family has worked the Volcan Azul estate for five generations, on the edge of Poás Volcano, with Alejo Castro Kahle producing today. Volcanic clay soil, shade cover and sharply defined wet and dry seasons all shape the coffee, and the family has bought up stretches of native forest to keep them protected.

Picking starts with a sugar test. The team measures the Brix, or sugar content, of cherries still on the tree, and only picks once they're ready. The chosen cherries then dry whole on raised beds, a slow, steady dry that pulls the fruit's sugars into the bean while holding on to its acidity. That's why the cup lands so dense with dried fruit.

Expect dried fig first, with blueberry and ripe apricot over a silky body. Give it a few minutes, too: as the cup cools, vanilla and a little lavender come forward.

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Producer → Alejo Castro Kahle
Farm → Volcan Azul
Location → West Valley, Costa Rica
Variety → Caturra
Altitude → 1,500 masl
Process → Natural