Costa Rica Sonora Red Catuai Honey

Country: Costa Rica
Region: Poas, Central Valley
Varietal: Red Catuai 
Process: Honey
Altitude: 1,300 MASL
Cupping Notes: Mandarin Orange, Brown Sugar, Cranberry, Black Tea

Description: Hacienda Sonora Estate has been in Alberto’s family for more than a Century. In the 1970’s when Alberto took over the farm he began planting the majority of the land with coffee and shortly after it became the main source of income. In 1999 with historical low coffee prices Alberto invested in a Mill to be able to maximize his quality, in order to do so he became a pioneer in very alternative processing techniques at the time, such as Honeys and Naturals. Also became a living proof of how different varietals could create different level of complexity in the cup. In 2011, Alberto’s son Diego became the co-manager of Hacienda Sonora and has combined his father’s longtime experience with his background in engineering to take an innovative approach and start new projects. Nowadays, Sonora has more than 20 different varietals of plants in 80 hectares of coffee along with 20 hectares of forest reserve.

Sonora takes special care when processing honeys to highlight the coffee’s natural sweetness. Once the ripe cherries are handpicked they are pulped, leaving part of the mucilage on the bean during drying. Unlike the washed process, no water is used to fully remove this layer. Drying takes place with the mucilage intact, which demands precise control of time, airflow, and temperature to avoid over fermentation and ensure even drying. Sonora has seen that this method results in a more complex cup profile, with sweet notes and a more full mouthfeel.