Costa Rica - Jacob Montero - Anaerobic Natural, Gesha

Origin: Costa Rica
Region: Los Santos
Farm & Farmer: Don Eli, Carlos Montero
Elevation: 2000 MASL
Processing By: Jacob Montero
Varietal: Gesha Enano
Processing Method: Anaerobic Natural
Tasting Notes: Sparkling Cider, Peach, Passionfruit, Jasmine Flower

Presta has been sourcing coffee from the Don Eli Farms for years. Selva Coffee (the importer) was started by the daughter of the Montero Family, and her husband, an Arizona local who worked with Presta when it first opened at Mercado San Augustine. Her father Carlos has been growing coffee his entire life, taught by his father who grew it before him, and presently Carlos' son, Jacob, handles all of the specialized coffee processing on the farm bringing the third generation of the family farm full circle, while also keeping up with the changing landscape that is the coffee world.

Anaerobic Process is the use of controlled fermentation to manipulate the sugars and acids present in coffee cherries changing the flavor profile of the bean. All coffee goes through some form of fermentation (in the cherry after picking) but using a yeast mother mix, lactobacillus cultures, or other fruits (co-fermenting), producers can create a wide variety of flavor compounds. This processing method is constantly evolving as farmers experiment with new techniques (original "fermentation" technique is the Natural Process) but usually the Anaerobic Processing starts with sealing the coffee cherry (still in its skin) inside large plastic barrels or Grain-Pro coffee bags full of liquid (or sometimes gasses). A one way valve allows the oxygen to purge as the coffee cherries release their own gas (CO2). The coffee is left in the oxygen free environment for anywhere from a few hours up to a week. Once the fermentation is complete the cherries can be either de-pulped, washed, and dried (Washed Anaerobic), or it can be left to dry in the cherry before being sent through a dry mill (Natural Anaerobic).

This coffee was fermented in the shade of their (micro) wet mill, inside Grain-Pro bags. Using his expertise Jacob checks the bags often and moves them occasionally waiting for the right moment to slow the fermentation to a halt. When he senses they are ready, the cherries are spread out to dry, raked over every hour (or more often for the first few days) to prevent unwanted changes. This drying process takes up to a month before the coffee is sent to a nearby dry mill to remove the fruit matter and parchment before being graded by size, density, and color.