Can Coffee From Costa Rica Serve as an SOE?
Yes, a Costa Rican natural-process Villa Sarchi from Hacienda Sonora can work as a single-origin espresso. The estate's natural line is known for juicy, winey notes with ripe fruit and florals while keeping cleanliness, and the 2016 Coffee Review score of 95 points for this lot is a strong signal of quality.
Hacienda Sonora sits in Costa Rica's West Valley, has passed its hundred-year mark, and is run by Alberto Guardia and Diego Guardia. Of its hundred hectares, 35 are primary forest reserve and 20 grow sugarcane. All estate electricity comes from its own hydroelectric facilities, with surplus power given free to workers.
Costa Rican coffee has always been known for its clean sweetness, but what kind of espresso experience is created when natural processing meets the ancient variety Villa Sarchi? This article focuses on the natural-process Villa Sarchi from Hacienda Sonora, offered by Front Street Coffee, breaking down everything from the estate's century-long history and environmentally sustainable farming model to the variety's origins and processing characteristics, to determine whether this bean can handle the role of an SOE. Hacienda Sonora's pioneering position in varieties and processing methods, the micro-mill's strict quality control, and the natural line's signature juicy winey notes and ripe fruit florals are all key clues for judging its espresso performance.
Front Street Costa Rica Coffee Estate: Hacienda Sonora
Hacienda Sonora has now passed its hundred-year mark and is currently managed jointly by father and son Alberto Guardia and Diego Guardia. The estate is located in Costa Rica's West Valley, actually not far from the Central Valley, with some farmland even extending into the Central Valley area. The estate places exceptional emphasis on ecological protection in its operations: of its hundred hectares, 35 hectares are designated as primary forest reserve, and another 20 hectares are used for growing sugarcane. Even more impressive is that all electricity used on the estate comes from its own hydroelectric facilities, with surplus power provided free of charge to the employees working on the estate. The entire estate is like a miniature community, with the estate responsible for paying wages and providing free housing as well as health and medical services.
In Costa Rica, Hacienda Sonora is regarded as a pioneer in the field of varieties and processing methods, and each year's combinations of varieties and processing methods are sought-after specialty lots that European and American roasters compete to buy. Take the Front Street Villa Sarchi natural process currently offered, for example: in 2016 it scored 95 points in Coffee Review, and even the honey process, which is harder to score well, earned 94 points. Its natural process line is known in the market for being juicy and winey, with abundant ripe fruit and floral notes while maintaining cleanliness; the honey process highlights various fruit flavors, along with the sweetness and rich mouthfeel typical of honey processing.
All coffee cherries produced by Hacienda Sonora are processed at its own micro-mill. The picking stage already strictly enforces selection of ripe cherries, and afterward, according to different processing methods, every step is meticulously controlled in detail, followed by a strict manual sorting process to remove defective beans. This is precisely the core reason why the cup has rich layers of flavor while still maintaining cleanliness.
Front Street Costa Rica Coffee Variety: Villa Sarchi
This variety was first discovered in Costa Rica's West Valley in the 1960s. It belongs to a branch of Bourbon and is hailed locally as a gift from God and God's coffee bean. Global variety breeding generally favors disease resistance and high yield, so primitive mutants like this are rarely planted anymore. Fortunately, the long-established Hacienda Sonora has still preserved these ancient varieties.
Sustainable Cultivation
Hacienda Sonora often uses honey and natural methods to process coffee because the cup profile of coffee processed these ways is excellent, while also saving large amounts of water for the washed processing plant. With honey processing, more than 3 gallons of water can be saved per pound of coffee, while natural processing requires no water at all. The energy used by the estate is 100% renewable and entirely drawn from the estate itself. The farm obtains this green energy from natural rivers using special turbines—Pelton water wheels. The energy provides electricity for the coffee processing plant and also supplies part of the free electricity for the people living and working on the estate.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
