Costa Rica, La Guaca

Sweet, juicy, and fruit-forward, this coffee offers a complex yet approachable cup.

This year's release from Rivense del Chirripó comes from a single honey-processed Catuai lot. After harvest, the coffee is de-pulped without water and pre-dried on raised beds for four days. It is then fermented in sealed plastic bags for 8–10 days before undergoing final drying. The Catuai variety, developed in Brazil, is a compact, high-yielding plant widely grown throughout Central America.

Café Rivense del Chirripó is a family-run micromill founded in 2005 by Régulo Ureña and Isabel Rojas in southern Costa Rica’s Brunca region. Originally focused on cattle, Régulo transitioned to coffee farming to support his family, and now each part of the business is managed by one of his sons. Their La Guaca lot is named after nearby indigenous ceremonial sites, believed to be sacred and marked by natural monuments like large rocks.