Honey Process

Previously in Costa Rica, the fruit was washed off the beans with water, leaving behind a clean bean; this is called “Washed Processing.” In 2008, an earthquake caused severe water shortages in the country, leading coffee farmers to look for a sustainable processing method that did not require water.

The solution was the Honey Process, which has proven to be a great success and is now a popular method in Costa Rica. This process removes the pulp from the bean without water. While typically the remaining mucilage, a sticky honey-like substance, is washed off the bean with water, the Honey Process preserves this.

The beans are then dried in the sun with the mucilage, which allows the sugars to seep into the bean and provide a complex sweet and fruity flavor.

Arabica Beans

These beans grow on the coffee plant called "Coffea plant", also called 'mountain coffee'. The plant is fragile and has many (but understandable) requirements: it grows best between 18 °C and 21 °C in the humid tropical climate around the equator. In addition, it grows in relatively high areas, around 1500 meters.

In 1989, a law was passed in Costa Rica that only made growing Arabica beans legal. This encouraged coffee farmers to strive for only the highest quality. It takes a lot of attention to grow this fragile plant well, but it results in high-quality beans with a richer taste, compared to, for example, Robusta beans.

Our beans grow at an altitude between 1500 and 1800 meters, which is why it deserves the title Strictly Hard Bean (SHB).

Rivense Family

The family business 'Café Rivense del Chirripó' has been growing coffee for four generations on multiple 'micro-lots' between the mountain peaks of Chirripo and Cerro de la Muerte in Costa Rica. The coffee grows in the shade of natural tropical vegetation, giving space to the flora and fauna of the region.

Although growing Arabica beans and processing them with the Honey process is very complex, the expertise and experience of the Ureña family ensures a constant production of high-quality beans with a rich fruity flavor. Their hard work was rewarded in 2019 when the family finished in the top 5 of the Costa Rican "Coffee Excellence" competition.

We are proud to work with this warm family, and happy to help them bring their product to Europe.