Foundry Coffee Roasters - Finca San Francisco - Costa Rica - Natural

This is our most anticipated coffee this year and our whole team have completely fallen in love with it. This is coffee that we sourced as part of the UK Coffee Forum coffee subscription club where we featured as guest roaster last month.

It's rare to find natural processed coffee that is this clean, complex and elegant. The funky, boozy elements that can be very apparent in natural processed coffee are toned down here which means the coffee is really well balanced. Simply stunning in any brew method, we think this is the best coffee we've managed to find so far this year.

In the cup, you can expect to find cherry cola bottle sweets (maybe there is no such thing, but if there was, this is what they would taste like). Crisp and clean acidity ensures a well balanced cup with topical fruit notes lingering around after drinking. It really is delicious coffee.

In 1990, Emilio Jimenez Castro inherited 6 hectares of land from his father. The land was originally used for cattle, but whenEmilio took over the land, he decided to invest in coffee. He purchased a further 7 hectares and established theFinca San Francisco. Alongside coffee, the farm alsoproduces avocado, citrus and other fruits. The coffee from San Francisco is processed at ASOPROAAA - The Association of Agricultural Producers of Acosta and Asserí.

ASOPROAAA was established in September 1998, following the devastating destruction in the region by Hurricane Mitch. Theassociation consists of more than 1,100 families producing coffee, citrus and farming cattle in the areas of Acosta, Jorco and Palmichal. ASOPROAAA offers financial, commercial and technical assistance to members, and employs dedicated programs to improve the livelihoods of members of the community.

More than 2000 houses were built for people with limited resources as part of a special program initiated by the association. ASOPROAAA has been influential in the revival of agricultural production in the area following Hurricane Mitch, and a pioneer in the processing of micro lots by its members. Lots from ASOPROAAA have won numerous quality awards in addition to regularly placing in the finals of the Cup of Excellence' competition.