Whole Bean
Roast: Medium
Recommended Rest: 2-3 weeks from roast date
Tasting Notes: cinnamon french toast, maple syrup, apple jam

BREW RECOMMENDATIONS

We acknowledge that the first shipment of this coffee may not be fully rested in time for Christmas.  Here are some brew recommendations to allow you to still enjoy this coffee during the holidays:

Option 1:

• For both Pourover & Espresso: Grind the coffee ahead of time (anywhere from 15 minutes to one day before brewing) to allow the coffee to off gas

Option 2:

• For Pourover: Bloom the coffee for 2 minutes before continuing the rest of your pours

Origin Details

Region: Alajuela, Costa Rica
Elevation: 1100-1350masl
Producer: Carlos Morera, El Diamante
Process: Anaerobic Washed
Variety: Caturra

ABOUT THIS COFFEE AND PRODUCER

Carlos Fernández Morera is an experienced farmer. This is his 65th season growing coffee in San Rafael de San Ramón, where his family has lived since 1895. His deep connection to his trees and the soil he works with is evident in the way he talks. “Coffee is a very grateful crop,” he says. “If you dedicate a little love, it responds very well… The earth is a living element, we must take care of it, pamper it, so that it transmits to the coffee plant all its force.” Morera’s plot of earth is called Finca El Cerro. Many of his four grown children and nine grandchildren help on the estate, his eldest works directly with administration, his youngest works for the export brand, Café de Altura, and his oldest grandson is an agronomist.  The plot of the farm where this award-winning lot originates is called Diamante (“the Diamond”). It contains Caturra and Catuaí cultivars, though other varieties more resistant to rust have been planted in recent years in other areas of El Cerro.

After pulping the coffee undergoes a sealed-tank anaerobic fermentation process. A selection of mucilage and a little water are added to the mix, and the slurry is closely monitored for pH, temperature, brix, and a host of other variables. Under a watchful eye, the high degree of environmental control this allows contributes immeasurably to the coffee’s flavor. Thereafter the lot is dried for three days on a patio before moving to raised beds for another eighteen days of drying. 

WHY WE SELECTED THIS COFFEE

Our Christmas coffee has arrived, and we honestly couldn’t be more excited to share it.

This year’s holiday release beckons to the now-famous Cinnamongate moment in coffee history—when Carlos Fernández Morera placed #4 in the Cup of Excellence and judges were so certain the cinnamon notes couldn’t be natural that they visited his farm to check for additives and found none. We’re thrilled to source from his farm and give everyone the chance to taste—and decide—for themselves.

In the cup, things get wonderfully unusual. There’s full-on cinnamon pastry, leaning almost into a sweet French toast profile. A maple-syrup richness follows, giving the coffee a heavy body and a long, cozy finish. A jammy apple note ties it all together, rounding out a truly fun medium roast.

It shares the cinnamon-pastry character of more notable Colombian yeast-inoculated coffees, but here it comes through a bit cleaner and more layered.

This coffee is playful, yet still grounded in a traditional medium roast profile, and it feels tailor-made for the holidays. Perfect to share with coffee drinkers of any background gathering together for the holidays.