Costa Rica: Licho, Natural

This is a bowl of cherries and raspberries. Drifting into dark plum on the finish, a dark, sticky muscovado sugar hangs on through into the aftertaste.

The arrival of our new lots from Finca Licho is greatly anticipated every year. We first bought from this farm way back in 2007 when it was awarded 4th place in the Cup of Excellence. Fast forward eighteen years (everyone at the roastery feeling old now!) and Licho has become a firm favourite – both with customers and our team. We love to celebrate the awesome things that happen when strong relationships are built between producers and roasters. Our partnership with Los Hermanos Aguilera, who produce world-class Costa Rican coffee, is a shining reflection of that ethos.

The farm is owned and run by Los Hermanos Aguilera. It's often translated as 'The Aguilera Brothers', but everyone is involved, not just the boys! The family of twelve brothers and sisters inherited the business from their parents, who started their coffee-growing career over 50 years ago. With the help of the third generation, the family work the farm with basically no hired labour except for during the harvest. They manage the mill and drying patios, fertilise, prune the coffee trees, and so on. They do it all themselves, all year round, and have a reputation for their deep understanding of quality at the farm and mill level.

Situated 1,500 metres above sea level in the region of Naranjo, the farm is in the volcanic Northern Cordiles corridor of the Western Valley, which is an area famous for its excellent coffee production. Most of the coffee grown at Finca Licho is Villa Sarchi variety, but there's a smidge of Caturra too (they're about 65% and 25% of production respectively). The remainder of their production is made up of a mixture of small plantings of more unusual varieties like Pacamara, Geisha, and San Roque. Villa Sarchi is a Bourbon mutation (similar to Caturra and Pacas) found originally in Naranjo. It is a dwarf variety with short internodes and usually higher-yielding production, boasting a very high-quality cup profile.

As well as Licho, the family own 4 farms around the same area called Toño, Edgar, Chayote, and Angelina. Most of the siblings own farmland, and they co-manage the micro mill they installed eight years ago, which they built with the earnings from their fourth place Cup of Excellence win in 2007 (the competition year we first found Licho!). Coffee from all these farms is processed at their Aguilera Bros micromill. This coffee is naturally processed, which much like the honey processes we see used on other coffees from Costa Rica, really does help the local area through water conservation. In parts of Costa Rica water is limited: in this area of Naranjo water is a precious commodity, so this method suits the location very well.

• Country: Costa Rica
• Region: Western Valley
• Province: Naranjo
• Farm: Finca Licho
• Producers: Los Hermanos Aguilera
• Processing system: Natural
• Varietal: Villa Sarchi
• Farm size: 28 hectares
• Coffee growing area: 9.10 hectares
• Elevation: 1,500 m.a.s.l.

(Cup of Excellence Scale)

• Clean Cup: 6/8
• Sweetness: 6.5/8
• Acidity: 6/8
• Mouthfeel: 6/8
• Flavour: 7/8
• Aftertaste: 6.5/8
• Balance: 6.5/8
• Overall: 6.5/8
• Total Score: 87/100

Medium

Through the gap and let this develop a little in the gap, finishing before you get to second.