Costa Rica Tarrazu San Diego Anaerobic

Tasting Notes

Bright, complex anaerobic coffee from Tarrazu with tropical fruit, blueberry, hibiscus, and grapefruit notes. Medium body with bright acidity. City to Full City. Good for espresso.

Cupping Notes

Cup Score: 87. A vibrant cup that showcases the innovation of Beneficio San Diego, Costa Rica's most modern coffee mill. The anaerobic process develops unique lactic and malic acids that create a very complex flavor profile. Tropical fruit sweetness leads, followed by blueberry and a distinct hibiscus floral quality. Grapefruit brightness cuts through with a clean, bright acidity. Medium body carries the fruit notes with a lingering, complex finish.

Origin & Farm Notes

Beneficio San Diego is the most modern mill in Costa Rica. Established in 1888, it has been innovating ever since and today specializes in coffees from the Tarrazu and Tres Rios regions. The mill takes pride in striving for ever-increasing efficiency and quality standards while working with producers to ensure good community relations and sustainable production.

Tarrazu is the most famous and highest-producing coffee region in Costa Rica. The canton was awarded Denomination of Origin status in 2019, and its distinctive cup profile with fine acidity and full body differentiates it from the broader Los Santos area. Coffee farms range from 1,200 to 1,800 meters above sea level. The region is affectionately known as Costa Rica's nursery for great coffee.

The Anaerobic process begins with handpicked mature coffee cherries selected at their ripest to ensure high sugar content. At the mill, the coffee is depulped and put in air-tight, stainless-steel tanks with the mucilage left on. The absence of oxygen stimulates anaerobic fermentation, developing unique acids such as lactic and malic that result in a very complex flavor. Once sufficiently fermented, the coffee is dried to 11.5% moisture and rested to allow complex and exotic flavors to develop.

Specifications

• Flavor: Tropical Fruit, Blueberry, Hibiscus, Grapefruit
• Body: Medium
• Acidity: Bright
• Process: Anaerobic, Semi-Washed
• Cultivar: Caturra, Catuai
• Altitude: 1450-1750 masl
• Producer: Various smallholders, San Diego Mill
• Region: Tarrazu, Costa Rica
• Harvest: December - March
• Roast Recommendations: City to Full City
• Recommended for Espresso: Yes
• Packaging: GrainPro Liner
• Origin: Costa Rica, Central America
• Cupping Score: 87