Costa Rica: Licho, Yellow Honey

This coffee’s big sweetness is amplified by its creamy body, evoking a syrupy fruit salad with an extra helping of ripe peach. As it lingers, a frangipane-like finish emerges - perfect for dessert lovers.

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, West Valley. It is a dwarf variety with short internodes and usually higher-yielding production, boasting a very high-quality cup profile.

As well as Licho and Toño, the family own 3 farms around the same area called Edgar, Chayote, and Angelina. Coffee from all these farms is processed at their Aguilera Bros micromill. This coffee has been honey processed, which is similar to the pulped natural method. The outer skin and fruit pulp is removed from the seed (bean) of the coffee inside, and it's left to dry. The main difference between this and a pulped natural is that there is less water used when the cherry is removed, so mucilage sticks to the surface of the bean. There are a spectrum of varying honey processes depending on how much of the fruity material is left intact - these range from white honey (least mucilage / closest to a washed coffee) to black honey (most mucilage / closest to a natural coffee). Lighter honeying methods tend to be used on coffee from higher altitudes, and darker honeying for lower altitudes. This is based on the producers' understanding of which crops will benefit most from the different attributes that honey processing brings to the cup, as the sugar content of the fruit alters fermentation and increases the perception of sweetness in the final coffee.

This method can present some risks during processing, but water is a precious commodity in this area of Naranjo so this method suits the location very well. The beans end up clinging together whilst drying because of their sticky layer of mucilage (hence the name "honey" processing) so the coffee needs to be turned regularly to break apart these clusters of beans. Over-fermentation can happen at this stage, and you can end up with undesirable flavours developing, but the Aguileras are well-versed in this method and are some of the most skilled in Costa Rica!

If you'd like to keep up with the family you can do so over on Instagram, make sure to give @aguilerabrothers a follow!

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

Cupping Notes: Fruit salad, peach, frangipane.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean cup: (1–8): 6
• Sweetness: (1–8): 7
• Acidity: (1–8): 6
• Mouthfeel:(1–8): 6.5
• Flavour: (1–8): 6
• Aftertaste: (1–8): 6
• Balance: (1–8): 6.5
• Overall: (1–8): 6.5
• Correction: (+36): +36
• Total (max. 100): 86.5

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