Salazar Sudan Rume

The Salazar micromill is a family project located in the West Valley of Costa Rica in Zarcero, Alajuela. Max Salazar and his cousins, Cristian and Greivin, had a vision to start a mill to be able to process their family’s coffee, taking control of their value chain and maximising the quality of their crops.

The families started the mill in 2016, with Claudio Salazar, Max’s father, and Danilo Salazar, Cristian and Greivin’s father, funding the project. The Salazar’s family history in coffee dates back to Claudio and Danilo’s grandfather, Cristóbal Salazar, who began cultivating coffee in Zarcero in the 1950’s. This generational experience shows in the coffees they are producing at the mill.

This is a true family project, where each member strives each day for quality, reflecting the terroir of each of the family’s farms that contribute cherry here. This lot of the Sudan Rume varietal comes from the La Isabela farm, owned by Max and his parents, Claudio and Dunia. The farm reaches an altitude of 1700 masl, and grows several other varietals, including Typica, Geisha and Villalobos. The climate here in Zarcero is warm and sunny during the day, but cool at night, contributing to the high sugar content in the coffee cherries grown here.

As the mill project is still rather new, only 20% of the coffee from the farm is being processed at the Salazar Micromill so far. The family have been aiming for very high quality micro and nano-lots since opening the mill, learning by experimentation and experience. The mill primarily offers honey, natural and experimental process coffees, combining slow fermentation with different drying methods.

This lot of Sudan Rume underwent Natural processing, with a ‘reposado’ step. Freshly harvested cherries are first fermented whole in sealed plastic bags overnight. The fermented coffee is then dried slowly over 25 days. This adds a little more ferment character to the cup when compared to a standard natural, with greater sweetness, while still showcasing the character of the varietal. This Sudan Rume has the typical herbal aromas, backed up by heavy stewed stone fruit, like peach and apricot.