Artisan Roast: Costa Rica, La Cachimba, Chumeca Micromill, Anaerobic fermentation

Anaerobic fermentations are changing the way coffee flavour can be expressed as a result of processing after harvesting and we are delighted to bring a coffee that showcases this new style from Martin Ureña at Chumeca.

Artisan Roast first started buying coffee from the Ureña bothers because they innovated with high quality natural processing in Tarrazú before many other people. Their latest innovation is to select coffee at peak ripeness and put it in an oxygen free distillery tank for around 96 hours. Extended fermentations sometimes use other gases like CO2 or liquids like water to create different anaerobic conditions and all fly in the face of traditional processing. Risk is high so success with these novel fermentation techniques is based around measuring how the coffee changes in the tanks. Sugar content, pH and temperature are common metrics, and using sugar as an example Martin measures this with a Brix meter. At the beginning of fermentation this will be around 25% and at the end it will be 19%. Once the fermentation is complete the cherries then dry on the maze of coffee drying tables that surrounds the Ureña’s processing area. Once dried, the final flavour profiles are exotic, complex and often wildly different from classic natural processing.

The combination of anaerobic processing with the perfect terroir of Tarrazú make for a heady combination with La Cachimba. This is an intensely fruity coffee with flavours of cherry, orange wine and bubble-gum most present. Underneath, violet and rose florals increase in intensity as the coffee cools and a finish of cacao nibs and molasses adds further complexity. The mouthfeel is silky, smooth and delicate.

The roast is light to medium and has been developed to give you flexibility in brewing to enjoy this unique coffee. It works well as a filter where the subtle acidity and structure is more present with the florals and cherry like flavour. French and aeropress will bring the cacao nib and bubble-gum like qualities out more with a higher intensity mouthfeel.