Coffeelab - Costa Rica Hacienda Sonora SL28 250 g

Whole-bean specialty coffee from Costa Rica, roasted in Warsaw by Coffeelab. Light roast, perfect for filter coffee machines, drippers, Chemex, AeroPress, French Press, and other pour-over brewing methods. In the cup, you can expect the hints of white wine, tangerine and vanilla.

Country: Costa Rica

Region: Central Valley

Varietal: SL28

Processing: Natural Pyramid

Altitude: 1300 m a.s.l.

Farm: Hacienda Sonora

ABOUT THE COFFEE

This might be the most delicate SL28 we’ve tasted so far: smooth, soft and distinctly sweet. Vanilla captures its character well, both in flavour and in the pleasant way it feels on the tongue. There’s a subtle fermented edge in the background, which we’ve described as white wine. Its delicate character keeps you coming back for more.

We mainly associate SL28 with Kenya, where it was selected in the 1930s at Scott Agricultural Laboratories. Fun fact: that’s where the SL in the name comes from. Over time, the variety also made its way to Latin America.

PROCESSING, REGION, FARM

These journeys are a good reminder that a variety’s name alone doesn’t tell you how a coffee will taste. Where it grows (its terroir) and how it’s processed have their say too.

Natural Pyramid refers to a particular way of drying whole coffee cherries. After picking, the fruit is washed and sorted in water to separate out lighter, less developed cherries. The cherries then dry on patios for around nine days. Every afternoon, workers gather them into small, pyramid-shaped mounds. Hence the name.

Inside these mounds, the cherries retain heat for longer during the cooler nights. This helps limit temperature swings and allows fermentation and drying to progress more steadily. Finally, the coffee goes into a mechanical dryer to even out the beans’ final moisture content. The whole process allows for greater control and consistency.

Hacienda Sonora lies in Costa Rica’s Central Valley and has been in the Guardia family for over a century. Today, Alberto and his son Diego run the farm. They grow more than 20 coffee varieties across 80 hectares, with a further 20 hectares kept as a protected forest.

Store in a cold and dry space.