Villa Sarchi Coffee Beans

Villa Sarchi is a natural dwarf mutation of Bourbon, discovered in the town of Sarchí in Costa Rica's West Valley region during the 1950s or 1960s. Like Caturra in Brazil and Pacas in El Salvador, it arose from a spontaneous single-gene mutation that produced a compact plant structure better suited to steep hillside cultivation than full-sized Bourbon. It was later introduced to Honduras in 1974, where it found a second home among quality-focused smallholders.

In the cup, Villa Sarchi at altitude produces clean, bright acidity with intense sweetness and fruit-forward clarity. Citrus, red fruit, and delicate floral notes are characteristic. It shares Bourbon's genetic quality ceiling but expresses it with its own distinct precision. Its main limitation is susceptibility to coffee leaf rust, which restricts it to specialty-focused farms that can manage disease pressure carefully. Beyond its own cup quality, Villa Sarchi has significant genetic importance: crossed with Timor Hybrid in the 1960s, it gave rise to the Sarchimor group of rust-resistant varieties, including Parainema and Marsellesa, which are now widely grown across Central America.

Read more: Our Villa Sarchi varietal guide · Bourbon · Caturra · All varietal guides