Costa Rica, West Valley, Fancy Sort

Experience the cream of the crop with this Costa Rican "fancy sort." 

You might have noticed the name "fancy sort" on this one. Believe it or not, that's a technical term in the world of coffee jargon. It means that only the finest beans from a variety of producers in the same region are hard-sorted to create a premium blend of coffee. It's a great way to experience a single origin's top-quality beans. Think of it as these beans are the best of the best specialty coffee beans Costa Rica's West Valley has to offer. It's also a great way for farmers to work together to maximize the value of their crops. Win win!

The beans themselves are fully washed and then sun-dried on raised beds. This results in a bright, clean and sparkly cup of coffee. When we first cupped the test roast, the first thing that jumped out at our tastebuds was caramel. This is pretty common with specialty coffee from Central American - it's known for it's sweet nuttiness.

It also has a sweet, toasty, cake-like flavour. It made us think of stroopwafels. Here in Chilliwack, we're pretty familiar with this treat. It's two thin waffles with caramel sauce in the middle (yeah, they're delicious). 

The sweetness is balanced with a touch of mild acidity. It's not as intense as the citrus notes you might get from a light roast. It's more like tart cranberry, but just a hint. 

This is a super approachable and balanced coffee. If you love specialty coffee from Costa Rica, this one is going to float your boat and leave you feeling fancy. 

ORIGIN: Costa Rica

REGION: West Valley

DISTRICTS: Naranjo and Alejuela

PROFILE: Medium

NOTES: Brown Sugar, Stroopwafel, Cranberry

VARIETALS: Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi

PROCESS: Washed

ELEVATION: 1,400 MASL

Available in 340g, 850g or 2.2kg bags of whole bean coffee.

We recommend this medium roast specialty whole bean coffee as a daily sipper in your drip brewer. It could also make a nice sweet espresso.