Costa Rica Brumas del Zurqui San Roque Natural

Arrived end June 2026, new crop in Grainpro lined bags, direct by air from Costa Rica. This is a Direct Trade coffee. 

When we were first offered this season's coffee from Costa Rica, we had numerous samples to work through. The best Costa Rica producers have much more interest in experimenting with varieties and processes, than ever before, presenting us with an array flavors. We were also informed that the crop size this year was significantly reduced, an event that was replicated elsewhere including neighboring Panama and parts of Colombia. That said, the overall coffee from all of these origins was in top form.  Perhaps our favorite single coffee from Costa Rica this year is this San Roque Natural. We just loved it. 

San Roque is the name under which an SL28 coffee variety was registered in Costa Rica. Originally from Kenya, it was introduced in 2010 by Antonio Barrantes of Cafetalera Herbazú through seeds brought directly from Kenya and planted in Naranjo. In its first commercial harvest, in 2015, it won first place at the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence, establishing it as one of the country's most renowned coffee varieties for its outstanding cup quality.

Its adaptation to Costa Rica's growing conditions has given San Roque a sweeter and more balanced cup profile than the traditional SL28 grown in Kenya, with sweetness becoming its most distinctive characteristic. San Roque is still relatively rare, but with its outstanding cup, surely will not be that way for long. 

We have several coffees this year Brumas del Zurqui farms and processed at their mill. Producer Juan Ramon Alvarado puts much care and attention to detail into both farming and processing, and in recent years has been more experimental with respect to varieties that he is developing. The mill was established in 2004 on his El Beneficio farm, and processes coffees from several other farms. 

Producer Juan Ramon Alvarado

San Roque, as mentioned, is a natural mutation of Kenya's famous SL-28, that adapted itself to the growing conditions of Costa Rica. SL-28 itself was a Bourbon derivative developed in the 1930s by Scott Labs, in Kenya. It, along with another similar variant SL-34, became the standard strains grown in Kenya. The original intent of this development was to find disease resistant varieties that had superior flavor qualities and were suited to the growing conditions of the country. SL-28 began from the selected of a single drought-resistant tree in Tanzania (Tanganyika at the time). The variety is best known for its winey profile, with tannic, fruity notes, bright highlights and somewhat dry finish. It has obvious complexity. In recent years, producers throughout the coffee world, but in Central America in particular, have found that is grows very well in their growing environment. It is grown very successfully in El Salvador by Aida Batlle on her Kilimanjaro property. And, we know now that Costa Rica is a hospitable host to this new mutation of SL-28. A dominant flavor trait of San Roque is off cited as tasting a bit like cola.

• Producer  Juan Ramon Alvarado
• Farm: Montano
• Region: Tarrazu
• Micro region: San Cristóbal, Desamparados
• Province: San Jose
• Altitude: 1800 meters
• Coffee variety: San Roque
• Processing: Natural