Tasting Notes: Apple Jacks, cinnamon, berries Processing: Honey Anaerobic Producer: Various producers; Montano micro-mill Location: Tarrazu, Costa Rica Altitude: 1200-1750masl Varietals: Caturra; Catuai Bio: Beneficio San Diego, Costa Rica’s most innovative and largest private mill, acquired Montano Micro Mill with a plan to take experimentation to the next level. Montano is led by Juan Ramon, a local producer with a strong reputation for high quality. Under his direction and with Volcafe support, Montano is set to become a high-powered lab where research towards new processes can thrive. The Anaerobic process begins with the selection of handpicked ripe, red coffee cherries. Selecting the cherries when they are at their ripest ensures a high sugar content, which helps feed the anaerobic process. At the mill, the coffee is depulped with a portion of the mucilage left intact. From there, the coffee is put in air-tight, stainless-steel tanks with the mucilage left on. The absence of oxygen stimulates an anaerobic fermentation process. The process develops in a unique series of acids such as lactic and malic, which results in a very complex flavor. Once the coffee has been fermented sufficiently, it is dried to 11.5% moisture and rested to allow complex and exotic flavors to develop.
Aaron and Ryley Stout launched Sunday Coffee Project in Portland, Oregon in the fall of 2021, with Aaron initially renting one hour per week at a shared roasting space and learning the craft through hands on practice. The roastery works with importers and exporters who pay well above commodity market prices, ensuring farmers earn living wages. Coffee is roasted every Monday and shipped every Tuesday. The packaging, designed by Sarah Brown, draws on cereal box nostalgia, with color coded characters, Portland bridge illustrations, and a Sunday activities checklist standing in for the usual nutrition facts. It has earned recognition from Sprudge and the SCA Coffee Design Awards.
