A Matter of Concrete - /046 El Churro | Costa Rica
Description
Costa Rica — Diego Robelo Aquiares Estate El Churro Centroamericano (Thermic Fermentation Natural)
Tastes Like — 🍍 Pineapple • 🍎 Fresh Apple Juice • 🍷 Mulled Wine • 🍋 Limoncello
DETAILS
Producer: Diego Robelo
Farm: Aquiares Estate
Region: Turrialba, Costa Rica
Varietal: Centroamericano (F1 Hybrid)
Process: Thermic Fermentation Natural
Altitude: 1,100–1,300 MASL
INTRO
El Churro is a nanolot with a reputation — a thermic fermentation Natural from Aquiares Estate that has become one of A.M.O.C.'s most talked-about releases. This new crop iteration sees the fermentation dialled back from 48 hours to 36, and the result is a coffee that keeps all of El Churro's unmistakable tropical character whilst gaining clarity and a silky, clean finish. In the cup: pineapple, fresh apple juice, mulled wine, and limoncello.
THE PRODUCER
Diego Robelo farms Aquiares Estate on the fertile volcanic slopes of Turrialba — one of Costa Rica's most historically significant coffee-growing regions. The estate takes its name from the Huetar indigenous word for "land between rivers," nestled between the Aquiares and Turrialba rivers, and sits within a few kilometres of Guayabo National Monument, Costa Rica's most important pre-Columbian settlement. The land is extraordinarily rich: mineral-laden volcanic soils, abundant clean water sources that supply three downstream communities, and over a century of continuous coffee cultivation.
Aquiares is one of Costa Rica's largest and most storied farms, and Diego has developed it into a centre for both agronomic excellence and varietal experimentation — sourcing rare seeds from CATIE, the regional university that holds Central America's most valuable exotic coffee collection, and working closely with roasters like A.M.O.C. to co-develop processing approaches that push the farm's already expressive terroir further.
THE PROCESS
The Thermic Fermentation Natural at Aquiares Estate involves:
🍒 Hand-picking — Ripe Centroamericano cherries selected at peak maturity 🌡️ Thermic fermentation — Whole cherries rolled in black plastic and fermented inside a solar dryer at a controlled temperature of 40–45°C for 36 hours ☀️ Drying — Cherries dried following fermentation to optimal moisture content
The defining step is the thermic fermentation — by maintaining an elevated temperature of 40–45°C throughout the process, only heat-tolerant microbial strains can survive and drive fermentation, producing a consistent and highly specific flavour signature with each batch. The reduction in fermentation time from 48 to 36 hours in this crop was a deliberate collaboration between Diego and A.M.O.C., bringing greater clarity and a silkier body whilst preserving the winey, tropical funk that makes El Churro so distinctive. The name itself comes from the pickers: the sight of coffee cherries rolled in black plastic inside the solar dryer put them in mind of a churro — or, in Costa Rican slang, a spliff.
THE CUP
A limited nanolot and a cult favourite — El Churro is a coffee that divides opinion and rewards curiosity in equal measure. The 2026 crop is the most refined iteration yet: tropical and winey, with real clarity underneath the funk, and a silky, limoncello-bright finish that lingers long after the cup is empty.
Flavour Notes
🍍 Pineapple 🍎 Fresh Apple Juice 🍷 Mulled Wine 🍋 Limoncello
