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c Origin

Everyday Work beans are de-pulped and anything
that floats or doesn’t meet the top
Now the 4th and 5th gen- quality standards will be removed
eration of this family are in as well. After this process has
charge of what started over 150 ended, coffee now needs to be
years ago but they also have a very dried; the producer will choose
clear goal in mind: the conserva- Most of their coffee is mechanically washed coffee which method suits best. Some of
tion of natural resources. They and the technology of the mill enables them to use the different drying methods
have committed to protecting vast only 1 m of water per day. include patios, where coffee is
3
extensions of tropical rainforest laid down in the floor; African
in the Costa Rica since the 80’s, beds, which are raised beds that
which is why they have acquired over 1500 acres of rainforest allow the air to circulate easily. The African beds can also
for ecological preservation in order to contribute to reducing be found in green houses where temperature and humidity
the effects of global warming. Costa Rica is known for its are controlled or just under the sun. Every producer has
efforts to preserve as best as possible the land but Volcán their own secrets.
Azul went a lot further by buying this land just to protect What are Volcán Azul’s millings secrets to quality
it. These reserves are located near the fincas but also at Osa coffee? They have a very strict quality control and only the
Peninsula, a region of high importance to the world, since microlots with a cupping score over 85 points can make it
it is home to 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity. to a Volcán Azul bag. Alejo, our tour guide for the day and
Producing over 40 different varietals that include part of the family, explained that most of their coffee is
Caturra, Geisha, Villasarchi, Sarchimor, Venecia, it all starts mechanically washed coffee and the technology of the mill
with the utmost careful monitoring of the crops until they enables them to use only 1 m 3 of water per day. For their
drying process the coffee is put in patios for two or three
reach the desired level of ripeness to deliver the desired
days which they call the pre-drying phase. Volcán Azul
quality. After the cherry picking, it is now time to start with
combines two different drying processes using a mechanical
the milling process. Even though at Volcán Azul they do dryer to give coffee the final touch. This is a slow process
different milling process such as honey and naturals, washed but they don’t want to leave it to the climatic conditions to
continues to be their process of choice for several reasons. determine when the coffee will be ready, mainly during peak
When processing honeys, it adds a significant work load of season when space becomes scarce. This mill also offers
another process they call double washed which means that
compared to the washed ones; they constantly need to stop
after coffee has been mechanically washed, they leave it in
and clean the depulper since honey gets stuck. Also the
fermentation tanks for ten to twelve hours, but this is only
drying phase also will take longer, especially with the nat- done on demand due to the water consumption.
urals. Time is gold during peak season and with 2000 Due to Volcán Azul’s high quality, most of their lots
fanegas to process, wet process is the most affordable to are sold in advance to the North European market and that’s
maintain the quality.Before getting into Volcán Azul’s de- why aside from the washed coffees they also offer small
tails it´s important to know that the wet process can be batches of honey and natural processed coffee. Within their
divided into two: fermentation and mechanically washed. finca there are particular micro-climates where the planta-
Fermentation is a controlled process where the beans are tions are located, partly due to the large extensions of
put into fermentation tanks between 12 to 24 hours to re- rainforest they preserve, which contribute to making coffee
move the mucilage. Producers are now experimenting with grains unique. In Costa Rica, every coffee mill must comply
different fermentation times and also with enzymes and with multiple laws on water use, hydrocarbon production
bacteria to create different flavor profiles. Coffee can also and wildlife protection. Even though Costa Rica has tradi-
be washed using mechanical mucilage removers which will tionally leaned to washed processed coffees, the regulations
scrub the mucilage, and even though this involves the use and the general focus on conservation has pushed the pro-
of water, the consumption will considerably drop. The first ducers to innovate different processes such as the honeys
step includes coffee cherries being dropped in a hopper at in order to reduce water usage, but the market still prefers
the top of a mill, where low density cherries, which are the coffees with the less mucilage, meaning washed, white
unripe and will float, are removed. Then the high density or yellow honey.

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