Esteban Zamora - Cinnamon Anaerobic

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There are those of us who long for summer to go on and on forever, who actually dread fall as it threatens to take away our pool days and warm, sunny evenings. And then there is, well, the overwhelming majority of everyone else, who start buying up pumpkins and breaking out chunky sweaters the day after Labor Day. For these people - including yourself, in all likelihood - we are pleased to announce the arrival of a Fall menu favorite around here: Esteban Zamora's ubiquitous cinnamon coffee.

MEET THE PRODUCER | Esteban Zamora is no stranger to our menu - we've been sharing his cinnamon co-fermented coffees with the world for several seasons now. Esteban, a mechanical-engineer-turned-coffee-producer processes all of the coffee grown on his family's five-hectare plantation by hand! Cinnamon coffees really got their start in Costa Rica, and Esteban is one of the best in the game. The process for fermenting a coffee anaerobically with cinnamon is tedious and long, but he always sees it through beautifully.

TRUST THE PROCESS | First, fresh coffee cherries are brought to the wet mill where the fruit is pulped, but mucilage is not washed from the seed. Everything but the cascara (coffee cherry skin) is added to GrainPro bags and combined with 1 kg of cinnamon powder for every 46 kg of coffee cherries. This mixture is left to ferment in an anaerobic environment for six days before finally being moved to concrete patios to begin drying. This drying process is finished in stationary mechanical dryers at the mill because reactions between the cinnamon powder and the mucilage form a seal around the coffee seed, making it more difficult to dry and requiring the use of mechanical dryers. 

TAKE A SIP | We say it year after year, but this season's cinnamon lot might just be Esteban's best iteration of the concept to date. He's really dialed in his cinnamon anaerobic process, resulting in a cup that showcases both variety and fermentation beautifully. The coffee itself is remarkably sweet, and the play between that sweetness and the unmistakable cinnamon flavors leaves us with something like cinnamon sugar, or even Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The fruit notes even seem to be touched by the magic of fall, possessing a "cooked" quality about them that reminds us of baked apples and blackberry compote.

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Origin | El Rodeo, San Marcos, Tarrazu, Costa Rica

Producer | Esteban Zamora

Farm | El Cedro

Process | Cinnamon Anaerobic

Variety |  Caturra, Catuai

Elevation | 1600-2000 masl