La Isabela - Costa Rica

San Cristobal is a family-run micro mill in Zarcero, Alajuela, Costa Rica. Max, Cristian, and Greivin Salazar had the vision to start their own mill to produce high-quality coffee direct from their own family’s crops.

The project was funded by Claudio and Danilo Salazar in 2016, but the Salazar’s coffee-growing heritage dates back much further to the 1950s when their grandfather, Cristóbal, began cultivating coffee in Zarcero.

The families collaborate on all aspects of production, from farm and plant maintenance to finding innovative ways to improve their processes. This Villalobos varietal (a first for us here at Cairngorm) comes from La Isabela, a 7 hectares farm owned by Max and his parents. Located 1550–1700 metres above sea level, La Isabela also produces Milenio, and Gesha, producing around 230 bags of coffee each year.

The climate on the La Isabela farm is hot during the day but with low temperatures at night which happens to be the perfect scenario for local flora and fauna, and contributes to high sugar content in the coffee cherries grown here. The Black Honey process involves whole cherries being fermented for 48 hours before being pulped, ensuring all of the mucilage is retained on the coffee. The pulped coffee is then dried on raised beds for approximately 25 days to reach its optimal humidity.

We're sure you're going to love the flavour profile on this coffee, packed full of Purple Grape, Cola Bottles and Cherry.