Costa Rica — Alejo Castro Kahle Volcán Azul SL28 (Fully Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍒 Cranberry • 🍑 Plum • 🍬 Brown Sugar

DETAILS

• Producer: Alejo Castro Kahle
• Farm: Volcán Azul
• Region: Poás Volcano, West Valley, Costa Rica
• Varietal: SL28
• Process: Fully Washed
• Elevation: 1,650–1,700 masl
• Crop: Picked Jan–Mar 2026, arrived Jul 2026

INTRO From Alejo Castro Kahle's Volcán Azul, on the slopes of Poás Volcano in central Costa Rica — a fully washed SL28 with tart cranberry brightness, plum depth, and a brown sugar sweetness. In the cup: cranberry, plum, and brown sugar.

THE PRODUCER The Spanish Castro-Jiménez family from Costa Rica and the German Kahle family from Chiapas, Mexico, founded their coffee business in the early 19th century. Alejo is the fifth-generation member of the Castro-Kahle family, whose coffee-farming history on the slopes of Poás Volcano spans over 100 years. Family descendants continue prioritising quality standards, acquiring native rainforest land to preserve natural resources and boost conservation value, alongside multiple initiatives to mitigate air pollution and global warming.

SL28 was selected in 1931 from a drought-resistant strain in Tanzania, developed by Scott Laboratories, with genetic testing confirming it belongs to the Bourbon group. The plant is tall with bright green young leaves, producing high yields and large beans with strong drought tolerance, making it ideal for medium to high altitudes — though susceptible to leaf rust and coffee berry disease, it's now widely grown even in Central America.

THE PROCESS This lot is Fully Washed, a method that removes the fruit before fermentation and drying — allowing SL28's naturally tart, structured character to come through with clarity, building the cranberry and plum brightness that define this cup.

THE CUP Tart and structured — cranberry brightness up front, plum depth through the middle, and a brown sugar sweetness on the finish. A clean expression of SL28 from over a century of Castro-Kahle family stewardship.

Flavour Notes 🍒 Cranberry 🍑 Plum 🍬 Brown Sugar