Costa Rica
Brunca
Luis Carlos Torres Zuñiga
La Ponderosa
Villa Sarchi
Natural
December–February
Cacao, Cherry Liquer, Herbs, Lime
1700 meters
N/A
69 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
Cerro Buena Vista Micromill was founded in 2015 as a family project including Luis Carlos Torres Zuñiga, his wife Hanny, and two children Richard and Kristel. The family was looking to launch a project they all could share in, and were motivated by the challenges of coffee cherry price instability in Costa Rica at the time. “We had no experience in processing coffee,” explains Luis, “but we did have a great dream and optimism that drove us to discover new opportunities.” The family processed 20 bushels in their first year of operation, and quickly found passion and inspiration for experimenting with different processes and working toward even higher quality.
The family’s micromill is located in Pérez Zeledón canton in the Brunca region of Costa Rica. The area has fertile soils and good elevations for coffee production due to the nearby Cordillera de Talamanca mountains. La Ponderosa, the farm on which this lot of Villa Sarchi coffee was grown, rests at 1700 meters above sea level.
Cerro Buena Vista processes coffee using Washed, Honey, and Natural processes, including some involving anaerobic fermentation. The family uses an ecological wet mill in order to minimize water consumption and converts organic waste produced at the site into fertilizer in order to protect the surrounding environment.
“As a family business, we have developed a passion for our work and, at the same time, we want to be sustainable over time because we believe in our work,” says Luis. “…the basis has been honest, strong work, but with a vision for the future where we can develop and directly and indirectly generate sources of work that help our small community. [I]n the near future, we would be pleased to know that in different parts of the world there are [cafes] where customers taste a cup of Cerro Buena Vista [Micromill] coffee. Our dream grows day by day and we are certain that it will soon be like that.”
This lot of Villa Sarchi coffee underwent Natural processing at Cerro Buena Vista. Cherries were selectively harvested for optimal ripeness. The coffee was first pre-dried on raised beds before being finished on the mill’s patio with all drying happening in full-sun exposure.
The Brunca growing region is located in the southern area of Costa Rica and comprises the two youngest coffee producing cantons in the country, Coto Brus and Pérez Zeledón. The region is bordered by Panama to the East, the Pacific Ocean to the South and West, and the Cordillera de Talamanca mountains—home to Chirripó, the tallest peak in Costa Rica—to the North.
The Coto Brus canton experiences average temperatures of 18–26°C and a mean elevation of 955 meters. Coffee cultivation here began in the 1950s when Italian settlers and local Costa Ricans established the first coffee farms in the area. Today, the economy of the canton revolves almost entirely around coffee, with 2,600 producers across 75 communities cultivating the crop.
Pérez Zeledón canton, located in the northwest of the Brunca growing region, has developed an economy characterized mostly by agriculture, livestock, trade, industry, and tourism. The primary agriculture in the canton today is sugar cane and coffee, with other fruits and vegetables cultivated as well. Pérez Zeledón’s geographic positioning is prime to connect the Costa Rican capital of San José with the southern areas of the country, especially regions which border Panama such as Coto Brus.
