Costa Rica — Alejo Castro Volcan Azul SL28 (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🌸 Florals • 🍑 Plums • 🍒 Stone Fruit

DETAILS

• Producer: Alejo Castro
• Farm: Volcan Azul
• Region: Alajuela, Central Valley, Costa Rica
• Varietal: SL28
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,600–1,650 MASL
• Roast: Choose Filter or Espresso

INTRO

A fifth season working with Alejo Castro's SL28 at Volcan Azul — one of April Coffee Roasters' most enduring and beloved producer relationships. Located on the slopes of Poás Volcano in Alajuela, this washed expression of an East African variety growing in Costa Rican volcanic soil is one of the most distinctive and consistently rewarding lots in April's annual lineup. High sweetness, high acidity, medium body, and a floral, stone fruit-forward profile that is unmistakably its own. In the cup: florals, plums, and stone fruit.

THE PRODUCER

Alejo Castro is a fifth-generation coffee producer whose family's connection to coffee in Costa Rica traces back to the mid-19th century — when ancestors on both sides of his family, Alejo C. Jiménez in Costa Rica and Wilhelm Kahle in Mexico, independently set out to produce exceptional coffee for the European gourmet market. That vision, now over 200 years in the making, continues at Volcan Azul — a truly remarkable estate on the slopes of Poás Volcano in Alajuela's Central Valley, where Alejo manages farms across the Central and West Valley regions at 1,500–1,700 MASL.

Volcan Azul produces an extraordinary 27 different coffee varieties, including Gesha, Mokka, SL28, Villa Sarchi, Caturra, Obata, and more — with Alejo continuously propagating new varietals each season in pursuit of diversity and excellence. More than 50% of the estate's production uses innovative or experimental processing, reflecting an approach that honours inherited tradition while pushing relentlessly forward. The family's commitment to conservation is equally remarkable — they have acquired over 1,500 hectares of tropical rainforest for ecological preservation across Costa Rica.

SL28 was cultivated from seeds given to Alejo by friends in Kenya, and has since thrived in Volcan Azul's volcanic soil — placing 4th at the Costa Rica Cup of Excellence and appearing in World Barista and World Brewers Cup competition routines worldwide. Cherries are harvested only when their Brix reading reaches at least 22%, ensuring the optimal sugar content needed for the processing method to produce the desired cup attributes.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Volcan Azul involves:

🍒 Hand-picking — SL28 cherries carefully picked at peak ripeness, with Brix monitored to ensure minimum 22% sugar content 🔧 Depulping — Outer skin removed at Alejo's on-site mill 🧪 Fermentation — Beans fermented to break down remaining mucilage 💧 Washing — Thoroughly washed to remove all fermentation residue ☀️ Drying — Dried to optimal moisture content

The precise cherry selection and on-site milling are the defining steps — by monitoring Brix before harvest and processing entirely within the estate, Alejo maintains complete quality control from tree to parchment, allowing the SL28's characteristic florality, plum sweetness, and stone fruit brightness to express themselves with full clarity and precision.

THE CUP

A high-sweetness, high-acidity, and beautifully expressive washed SL28 from one of Costa Rica's most remarkable and multi-generational specialty estates — floral delicacy, ripe plum sweetness, and lush stone fruit in a medium-bodied cup with bright, structured acidity. Five seasons in, and still one of April's favourites from Volcan Azul.

Flavour Notes

🌸 Florals 🍑 Plums 🍒 Stone Fruit