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MEET THE PRODUCER | Nestled at the foot of Chirripo Volcano, the three-hectare farm owned by Lica Torres and his family is one of only a few such courageous endeavors in Brunca, the southernmost coffee-growing region in Costa Rica. Conditions there aren't exactly idyllic; the soil is rocky, the incline steep, and the weather is often either a little too hot or a little too cold to grow any particular crop with tremendous success. Lica's father initially planted pine trees on the farm, but farming wood is a slow-going process that doesn't yield dividends very quickly. 

Enter: Lica's big idea.

In 2020, Lica began to notice other families in the area growing coffee with some success, and he had just been introduced to a new, experimental hybrid variety called Milenio, which was being planted at lower elevations in Brunca. Lica decided to take a big risk and plant Milenio trees on his farm, which sits between 1500–1600 MASL. The result looked promising even after the first year, and Lica has since endeavored to cultivate other coffee varieties at elevation—including our beloved Gesha variety. 

Lica’s triumphs in coffee growing are perhaps only rivaled by his triumphs in coffee processing, and the Black Cherry protocol which this Gesha lot is one of his most prolific—and also one of the most difficult to pull off. 

TRUST THE PROCESS | Black Cherry is a process coined by the Torres family and controlled meticulously at the Cerro Buena Vista Wet Mill. As with any "normal" natural processing method, ripe coffee cherries are collected by hand and taken to the mill, but Lica allows these cherries to linger on the plant a little past peak ripeness, and the cherries start to take on a darker hue as a result. At the wet mill, they are placed in propylene bags for about 24 hours before being spread out on raised beds to begin drying. Once the parchment approaches 15–20% moisture content, the lot is re-collected into plastic bags and placed in storage for seven days, where fermentation continues to occur at a glacial pace. Finally, the cherries are put back out to dry—on concrete beds this time—until the remaining 5–10% humidity points are lost.

TAKE A SIP | Year after year, Lica Torres produces this consistently distinct cherry flavor profile with his meticulous and mindful processing, and we simply love it so much. But this year’s feature is extra-special because Lica agreed to process a Gesha lot using the Black Cherry protocol just for us! The result is a coffee that is special and expressive, driven by a high fermentation impact but which somehow remains true to its lovely Gesha-ness. All the usual Black Cherry process suspects are there: cooked cherries, acidity like orange zest, and a complex richness like craft dark chocolate. But somehow, Gesha characteristics still shine through—primarily in the form of florality, like roses.

Origin | Rivas, Brunca, Costa Rica

Producer | Don Lica Torres

Farm | Cerro Buena Vista

Process | Black Cherry Natural

Variety | Gesha

Elevation | 1500 MASL