Costa Rica is one of those coffee-producing countries where the scale of the reputation far outstrips the scale of the nation, or even the production. This small Central American state is the world’s 15th largest exporter of coffee, but many consider it to be one of the best producers of specialty coffee. This may be because of the long Costa Rican history of coffee cultivation, spanning at least two centuries, and the importance of the crop to the domestic economy.

Costa Rica isn't only known for its high quality in the specialty space, either. In fact, Costa Rican coffee producers placed themselves on the specialty coffee map with their willingness to experiment with the natural pulping method. This experimentation became vital due to a catastrophic earthquake in 2008, after which severe water restrictions were imposed on harvests. This limited coffee producers’ ability to use the washed method and brought about much-needed innovation. Extensive experimentation with natural processing, varying the exposure to leftover mucilage, led to the development of the 'honey' process. After inspiring the coffee world, this method has become popular outside of Costa Rica, most notably in other South American regions like El Salvador and Panama. 

Since opening its roastery doors, Cedar has only released one prior Costa Rican coffee, the Black Honey lot which some of you may remember from the famous Las Lajas farm. With this Villa Sarchi variety offering, Cedar has spoiled coffee-lovers once again, as it reflects both the vibrancy of the region’s terroir and Costa Rica’s history of experimentation.

Cedar’s notes

“On filter, the cup is bright and juicy with pomegranate notes. As espresso, it opens into a range of stone fruit flavours peach, pomegranate, and at times a fruit-cocktail character giving it a round, expressive sweetness. In milk, it softens into a creamy, chocolatey sweetness reminiscent of Cadbury Whispers.”

• Cup Profile: Pomegranate, Stone Fruit, Cadbury Whispers

Coffee details from Cedar

“At Cedar, we’re always looking for coffees that tell a clear story of place, variety and processing and this lot from Costa Rica’s La Isla farm does exactly that. Costa Rica is renowned for its clean, expressive Villa Sarchi coffees and its mastery of honey processing, and La Isla is a young but fast-rising farm that’s already earning serious recognition. Founded by the Jiménez & Padilla family, the farm sits in Naranjo at 1,560 masl, and their commitment to precise, quality-focused production has already placed them 6th in the 2024 Cup of Excellence Costa Rica.

“For this lot, cherries were handpicked at peak ripeness, de-pulped, and dried slowly with their sticky mucilage intact - a meticulous honey process that lifts sweetness, enhances texture, and keeps the profile incredibly clean.”

• Farm/Producer: La Isla, Jiménez and Padilla family
• Region: Naranjo, Lourdes
• Country: Costa Rica
• Process: Honey
• Altitude: 1560 masl
• Variety: Villa Sarchi