Freak & Unique IV | Costa Rica | La Pastora | Coffee Only

REGION : Terrazú ALTITUDE : 1,700 MASL VARIETAL : Catuai, Caturra PROCESS : Honey FLAVOUR NOTES : Prune, Green Apple, Cola Finca and Beneficiadora Santa Elena is a 46ha farm situated on the slopes of the Caraigres mountain in the Los Santos Region, also known as Tarrazu. This washed microlot is grown at 1,650masl and includes both Caturra and Catuai varieties. Coffee came to Costa Rica as early as 1779 and within 50 years was generating more revenue than any other crop, but by the 1830’s they were growing more coffee than the ships heading south could take. And virtually no infrastructure existed for transporting even a small amount of green coffee to the east coast of Costa Rica (where London was a mere 5,000 miles away). The distribution woes of Costa Rican coffee producers reached the ears of an up-and-coming shipping magnate named William Le Lacheur in 1841 and on Christmas day, 1841 he sailed The Monarch into port at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and thus began a long and mutually beneficial relationship. On one voyage to London in late in 1843, the Monarch carried more than half a million pounds of Costa Rican coffee. Coffee grows in eight coffee regions throughout Costa Rica. In the central and northern highlands where most specialty coffee is found, coffee grows from 1200-1700 meters. Ninety percent of Costa Rican coffee is grown by 50,000 farmers on less than 5 hectares. Although nearly all Costa Rican coffee is wet milled, the country produces a wide variety of honey processed coffee. Coffee is dried using both patios and mechanical dryers. Costa Rica grows Typica, Caturra, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, Bourbon and Gesha.

A Freak & Unique natural anaerobic lot from La Pastora in Tarrazu, Costa Rica, built around Catuai and Caturra. Cinnamon, warm nutmeg, and spiced rum notes make it a striking, spice-heavy cup.

REGION : Bebesen, Sumatra ALTITUDE : 1,300 - 1,600 MASL VARIETAL : Abyssinia PROCESS : Anaerobic Natural FLAVOUR NOTES : Cola, Blackberry jam, Iced Tea Aulia Kahfi inherited Rakyat Farm from his family and has been involved in coffee production since his early teens. His interest, however, has always leaned towards speciality coffee. At a time when there was little local demand for it, he took an unusual detour, spending several years mining and selling vesuvianite, a mineral found around volcanic regions, before returning to coffee. Now in his early thirties, Aulia has steadily expanded his operation beyond the family farm. Travelling in an old van or borrowing a friend’s car, he buys ripe cherry in small quantities from neighbouring producers in Lukup Sabun, Pantan Sile and Ratawali, more recently extending his network to Gegarang in Jagong Jeget. His commitment to quality has gained wider recognition. In 2019, Aulia placed ninth in the Sumatra Prestige Cup with an exceptional wet-hulled lot. He calls his experimental and specially processed coffees ‘Sesongot’, after a distinctive caterpillar native to Gayo that can often be found among the coffee trees. Its unusual appearance felt like a fitting namesake for these equally distinctive lots. Like most coffee farms in Sumatra, farms here are small, typically between 0.5 and 2.5 hectares. Coffee is the principal cash crop, but it grows alongside vegetables, maize and fruit, much of which becomes an important part of farming families’ diets throughout the year. For this lot, Aulia selectively hand-picks ripe red cherries and supplements his own harvest with carefully selected cherry from neighbouring farmers. The cherries are fermented for 24 hours, with the water changed every 12 hours, before being laid out on patios to dry. Throughout drying, they are raked regularly to encourage an even and consistent process.

PRODUCER: Edinson Argote FARM : QuebraditasREGION : HuilaALTITUDE : 1850 MASLVARIETAL : CaturraPROCESS : Strawberry Co-fermentedFLAVOUR NOTES : Strawberry laces, yoghurt, berry compote Roasted weekly on Wednesday for dispatch Thursday Edinson Argote’s journey into speciality coffee began at a buying station in Acevedo, Huila, where he developed an interest in cupping and sensory evaluation. Working alongside some of Cauca’s most innovative producers, he went on to lead quality and processing control before establishing his own farm. Today, Edinson runs Quebraditas Coffee Farm with his family, cultivating rare varieties including Gesha, Bourbon Sidra, Ombligon, Eugenoids, Chiroso and Laurina. His approach combines technical precision, experimental processing and a commitment to exploring new expressions of flavour. Only ripe cherries are selected before flotation and an initial 12-hour oxidation. The coffee is then depulped and fermented for 24 hours to remove the mucilage, followed by a 72-hour fermentation with ripe strawberries and selected yeast, maintained below 25°C. The coffee is washed, mechanically dried for 42 hours at 38°C, then stabilised in protective bags. This carefully controlled process is designed to develop vibrant fruit character, sweetness and complexity in the cup.