Costa Rica, Minor Jimenez Abarca - Single Origin Espresso

Finca La Esmeralda has been in the Abarca family for three generations. Today, Minor Jimenez Abarca, an agronomist who grew up among coffee, runs the farm alongside his wife, Nancy Gaitan Cruz. Over the past two decades, the family has focused increasingly on keeping the identity of its coffee intact, taking responsibility for processing as well as growing.

That journey began with drying parchment at home alongside their neighbours. From those beginnings, the family built La Cumbre, a micromill and roastery in San Gabriel de Tarrazu. Processing their own coffee allows them to keep lots separate and traceable, bringing the work of the farm all the way through to the finished coffee.

At 1650 MASL, Finca La Esmeralda benefits from warm days and cold nights that allow cherries to mature slowly, developing sweetness while retaining acidity. This lot brings together Catuai and Caturra, two varieties widely grown in Tarrazu whose compact stature makes them well suited to cultivation and picking on steep slopes.

Carefully selected cherries rest overnight in receiving tanks, where a gentle fermentation begins with the fruit intact. The next day, they move to patios to dry whole in the sun for 30 to 40 days, with regular turning to keep drying even. Cool temperatures at altitude slow the process, allowing a clean, measured fruit character to develop.

In the cup, that patient approach comes through in rounded acidity and lasting sweetness. Filter brewing gives the apple and peach room to shine, while espresso and milk bring the biscuit and honey notes forward, with the fruit taking on a baked character. The soft, rounded mouthfeel carries through both formats, and the sweetness stays with you as the cup cools.