The Umaña Family
This is our seventh year purchasing from the La Roca micro-mill, located in the Tarrazu region of Costa Rica, at 1900 masl. The mill is run by the three Umaña brothers, Felix, Dario and Juan Carlos. They are the fourth generation of their family to work with coffee, but the road to this point has not been smooth. Previously, the family were selling unprocessed cherry to a local cooperative at a low price.
Like many in Costa Rica, the brothers saw that they could take more control of their value chain by processing their own coffees, but simply did not have access to the funds or financing to invest in the infrastructure required. So two of the brothers made the decision to immigrate to the United States, working for several years in order to be able to afford to build the mill.
La Roca
La Roca was finally built in 2014, and we were able to visit during its first harvest season. The Umaña family now feel a much greater connection to their coffee; they are able to cup the final results, searching for the best varietals and processes for their farm. They are also able to directly invest in quality, demand higher prices for the micro-lots they produce, and keep more of the profit by consolidating their value chain. The youngest of the brothers, Dario, now wants to train as a barista and open a coffee shop in order to serve their own coffees directly, completing the chain from tree to cup.
The Umaña brothers’ careful processing leads to a deep toffee sweetness and fresh notes of mandarin.
'White' Honey Processing
This is the same lot we have purchased from La Roca several times, a honey-processed Catuai. To accomplish this process, a Penagos Ecopulper is used, set to remove almost all of the fruity mucilage from the coffee seed while using minimal water.
This results in a ‘white’ honey, aiming for a fresh and bright expression in the cup. In this lot, a deep toffee sweetness is enhanced by the processing, and joined by fresh and crisp notes of mandarin and vanilla.
