Episode 403 on Monday the 1st of August, 2016. Costa Rica Don Mayo Bella Vista Yellow Honey Caturra.

In My Mug

OK so this coffee has a big long name but it's all important information, we should break it down...

Costa Rica (I'm guessing you worked this bit out!) is the country it's from. Don Mayo is the name of the micro mill where the coffee is milled and processed. Finca Bella Vista is the farm that the coffee was grown on. Yellow Honey is the processing method (if you want to learn a little more about processing be sure to check out our processing videos) and Caturra is the varietal of coffee bean (more information about Caturra available in our varietal archive) See I told you it was all important stuff!

Finca Bella Vista is located at an altitude of 1,900 metres above sea level in the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica and I first came across this coffee on my visit to the country in February 2011, I knew it was a coffee for people like me. The farm is very close to the Don Mayo mill and is owned by Hector Bonilla and his family.

This coffee is a coffee with a pedigree, winning the 2009 Costa Rica Cup of Excellence competition, and is one of the most highly regarded coffees in the Tarrazú region. There was a time when coffees from the Tarrazú region would fetch a high price on just the name alone. It's a super interesting coffee, but the quality over the past ten years or so has seen the coffee plummet whilst other regions (I'm thinking Naranjo and Central as ones that stand out) have raised their game. This particular coffee from Tarrazú is of a small minority that seems to be bucking the general trend and working hard to make the coffee as good as it can be. This coffee gives me huge hope for the future of Tarrazú.

The farm is an amazing example of how professional a farm and mill should be. Everything at the mill is impeccably clean, tidy and organised to the point of obsession. I think when it comes to running a good farm and mill it's okay to be obsessive about what you're doing. It's little things like hats for the staff working in the mill, labels on the lots that are clear and readable; they're all very small and tiny things, yet things that make the difference in quality.

This is the fifth (!) year that we've had this coffee after I originally found it while cupping around 250 blind samples in three days from a whole heap of farms. Some were just different days' pickings, some were different varietals and processes.

In the cup this is (for me) a glass of orange juice! It has both the texture and sweetness of orange juice alongside a really nice mouthfeel. That sweetness turns into a golden sugar sweetness as each sip progresses, finishing with just the gentlest touch of apple.

• Country: Costa Rica
• Region: Tarrazú
• City: Llano Bonito de León Cortes
• Farm: Finca Bella Vista
• Micro Mill: Don Mayo
• Farmer: Hector Bonilla
• Altitude: 1,900 m.a.s.l.
• Varietal: Caturra
• Processing System: Yellow Honey