This is the second year that we have collaborated with the Ureña Rojas Family, and we present you with a sealed fermentation red honey-processed Catuai that is mouth-watering.

The processing of this coffee is quite specific, with a lot of thought to save water which is quite scarce in the area while keeping the process controlled.

After the cherries are sorted, they are pulped without water in a completely dry process to avoid any fast ferment on the mucilage.

The cherries are then pre-dried in raised beds for five days concentrating the sugars in the mucilage. After this they are put in sealed plastic bags with limited presence of oxygen under shade for one week resulting in a controlled fermentation.

The last step is to finish drying the coffee beans in a mechanical drier at a constant temperature of 30 – 45 degrees which replicates the temperature the coffee gets over the beds on a sunny day.

Café Rivense is a family-run micro mill, established in 2005 by Regulo Ureña and Isabel Rojas. All their sons – Ricardo, Mario, Esteban, and Luis – are deeply involved in running the farm that is located in the mid-southern part of Costa Rica, in a micro-region called Chirripó.

With each family member working on specific tasks they specialize in, the farm is incredibly well organized. Through years of sustainable growth, they have managed to take control of every step of coffee production, from picking the cherry, through processing and dry milling, to loading and sealing the container which they export independently.

The biodiversity on the farm is amazing, with many indigenous plants and trees all over the plantations. The system of proper shade management, fertilization based on annual soil analysis, a truly minimal usage of water during the processes, and a full traceability of the final products is something that make this family exceptional producers.