COSTA RICA TICO

A superb cup with aromatic notes of hazelnut, mandarin, apricot with a fruity final note.

Country: Costa Rica
Terroir: Orange
Species: Arabica
Variety: Blend
Altitude: 1000 - 1500 m
Harvest: November to March
Process: Washed
Drying: Patios
SCA score: 82-84

For several years, we have been selecting our TICO coffees in the West Valley in Costa Rica. Over the years, we have worked with a more local partner to increase our quality and improve our social impact in the region.

The result: a coffee with better traceability at a fair price for the country. The concept of the project is to provide a constant volume of differentiated coffee of traceable quality while supporting a small community living on the Naranjo terroir.

The farms producing our TICO are part of an environmental project called NAMA, which aims to reduce greenhouse gases and improve resource efficiency at the coffee plantation and production plant level.

In practice, what does this mean? Well, there is a fund allocated to producers and mill owners to enable technical and feasibility studies, financial assistance, capacity building measures and other awareness-raising activities (for example, this could be training on good agricultural practices (GAP) and improved resource management in coffee plantations, funding to encourage composting… and so on).

Producers get help from Coopro Naranjo agronomists to monitor ripening levels and determine the ideal harvest day based on brix measurement. The coffee is pulped and washed using advanced Penagos equipment to ensure consistent and efficient processing. Everything is done to produce a beautiful clean cup for the producer, for the Coop and for you.

Contrary to what we are sold in supermarkets, fresh roasting is essential to the expression of a terroir and a history, that of coffee which is a fruit above all.

The roasting date, we don't talk about it enough but it is very important!
Why? Because drinking “old” coffee is like drinking “dead” coffee devoid of all aromatic cells. The result in the cup will be disappointing. Oxygen tends to deteriorate the finest aromatic molecules in coffee, making it less delicate to taste. This is why it is better to drink your coffee quickly and to favor artisanally roasted coffees rather than industrial coffees. which are roasted and packaged way too long before you find them in your cup!