This is a high intervention anaerobically fermented and washed Caturra cultivar coffee from Alajuela province, Costa Rica, produced by Carlos Morera on the El Diamante plot of his farm, Finca El Cerro.
The flavor profile is unique and completely distinctive, immediately evocative of gingerbread and cinnamon. We tasted supporting notes of peach galette and cobbler, fig, and acai berry.
Our roasters preferred a minimalist approach with lower charge temperatures.
When brewed, we liked a low TDS pour-over brewed with a coarse grind and low dose.
Brew Analysis by Joshua Wismans
Carlos Morera is a master of what he does. To be able to grow and produce such a consistent coffee year over year while utilizing a wily processing method like anaerobic fermentation without cofermentation is actually bonkers – and it keeps getting better. This year’s crop from El Diamante is bursting with its classic baking spice and baked fruit profile. We found that the coffee itself doesn’t need as intense of an extraction as most traditionally processed coffees.
Our first recommended profile utilizes a slightly lower dose, but a finer grind and a conical brewer. With a ratio of 1:16.67, the TDS came in at 1.26. I was surprised, given the finer grind, and expected it to be almost tea like. I was wrong. The profile was bold, with ripe plum, tiramisu, and roasted carrot coming forward in the cup. even at an extraction percentage of 18.62, this cup was bold, spicy, and funky.
It feels funny saying this, but my inclination went to making the grind coarser. I kept the rest of the parameters the same. More of the spiced galette, baked good, custard flavors came forward, toning down on the funky fruit profile.
If you’re interested in the funk of an anaerobic, I recommend the finer grind profile. However, keep the dose low and shoot for a lower-than-normal TDS. If you want more of a subtle fruit and baking spice profile, make the grind coarser, but maintain a lower dose. It doesn’t feel right to have a TDS so low, but ultimately, trust your palette. My suspicion is that the anaerobic processing allows more flavor to be given off without having to extract as heavily. I’ve noticed it with other coffees and am not totally surprised to see the phenomena at work here with Carlos’ beautiful coffee.
