Carlos Montero Anaerobic (Costa Rica)

Flavour Description: Blackberry, 58% Chocolate, Vanilla.

Producer: Carlos Montero.

Region / Country: Costa Rica.

Varietal: Villa Sarchi.

Process: Anaerobic Natural Process.

Lot Name: Tematica.

Roasters Notes: We have roasted this coffee to a medium level to bring out the malic acidity which reminds us of blackberries. The body and texture is creamy and the sweetness is high, like a vanilla syrup. There's pleasant lingering dark chocolate aftertaste. Overall the flavour of this coffee is intense and unique. 

The Montero Family have been visionaries, pioneers, and game changers in the Micro Mill Revolution in Tarrazu, Costa Rica. Carlos Montero has been growing coffee his whole life and comes from a long line of farmers. He had the vision of processing their own coffee fruit and working more directly with consumers -  constructing Don Eli, named after his father, in 2014. Carlos was also instrumental in encouraging many other coffee growers in the Tarrazu region to do the same and begin creating relationships with roasters. Jacob has taken charge of the wet mill over the years and really honed in his passion for processing their fruit. This year, they added a humble dry mill station to prepare their parchment for export. Always adding onto their skillset, improving quality, and strengthening their direct relationships.

Tematica means subjects or topics in Spanish. It was Carlos’ vision to have a place where he could do and share with others various disciplines - with focus on environment, coffee, sustainable agriculture, and exchange of ideas. That was his dream when he was finally able to take out a loan and purchase the land which became available in the early 2010’s - just on the other side of the Pirris River from his home. After years of hard work, sacrifice, and development the farm now houses the wet mill, Don Eli, a structure for visitors to stay and host events, as well as an “organic” farm for research and demonstration. The area of Tematica where coffee is grown in an organic or biodynamic style is actually referred to as the Chamaco Lot. This is because Carlos bought the land from a man named Chamaco who had not disturbed the land since he purchased it in the 70s. 

Unlike many farms in the area, the forest which makes up the Chamaco Lot was not destroyed in order to make way for coffee plantations. Rather, the land has coffee planted among the indigenous growth that has always resided there. Many of the coffee trees found in this farm were planted nearly 100 years ago. Back then, the Typica Variety or as it’s often referred to as Cafe Arabigo was popular to plant. Until today you can see those same tall, strong, and low yielding plants growing under the canopy of the natural forest. As time went on, Carlos added plants where he could within the woods - experimenting with a few other varieties ie Catuai, Villa Sarchi, Mundo Novo, Yellow Bourbon, Ethiopian Lineages, and others. 

These efforts were always to see how each variety would behave in this shaded, crowded, and organically managed plantation. Carlos has been dedicated not to use any synthetic products in this farm - which is nearly unheard of in a productive field. The only materials added or used in this farm are made on this property from byproducts also coming from the same land. While it is not the most productive farm Carlos has, it definitely attracts a lot of intrigue and results in a quality in which one can taste the sustainable nature of. This is a natural coffee farm that the entire family is very proud of, has taught and inspired many coffee lovers, and creates some beautiful coffees to drink.

Processing:

Jacob, Carlos son, has been honing in his fermentation skills for his specific conditions like the environment around the wet mill and the fruit that is received. Over the past couple of years, he and Carlos have niched out a fermentation area into the wet will and made better raised beds for optimal drying. Honestly, Jacob keeps it pretty straight forward for this fermented process. After he receives and inspects the fruit, he gives it a quick rinse and seals it off into grain pro bags. The coffee is left in this condition for 5 days as Jacob keeps an eye on it and gives the bags a turn every so often. After the fermentation period the coffee is dried in the fruit on raised beds in Jacob’s preferred method - very slowly. The coffee is kept in a medium-thick layer and shade is used to control a nice, slow drying. Jacob believes this is the key and has nearly perfected his method for a clean, fruity, and long lasting process. This coffee takes over a month to process and dry.