Costa Rica — Volcán Azul — SL28 (Natural)

Location: Alajuela, Central Valley, Costa Rica
Producer: Alejo Castro
Process Station: Volcán Azul
Harvest: January – March 2024
Received: July 2024

Variety: SL28
Altitude: 1600–1650 masl
Process: Natural
Roast: Light Roast

Tasting Notes

🍒 Red Fruits • 🌿 Brown Spice • 🍎 Cooked Apple

Sweetness: ●●●●○
Body: ●●●○○
Acidity: ●●●●○

Intro

This Natural SL28 from Volcán Azul is a vibrant and expressive expression of a varietal we continue to love year after year. Juicy, spiced, and warmly fruited, it balances clarity with depth, offering a cup that feels both familiar and exciting. This is our fifth season working with SL28 from Volcán Azul, and it remains one of our favorite offerings from the estate.

The Producer

Volcán Azul is a historic and highly respected coffee estate located in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, under the stewardship of Don Alejo Castro, a fifth-generation producer whose family legacy on the land dates back to the late 19th century. Alejo’s deep understanding of both agronomy and processing has made Volcán Azul a benchmark for quality and consistency in the region.

The farm cultivates a wide array of cultivars, including Catuai, Caturra, Obata, Villa Sarchi, Gesha, and SL28. Alejo continuously experiments with new plantings and processing techniques, always seeking to refine quality and expand the expressive potential of his coffees.

The Process

This lot was carefully hand-picked and fully processed on Alejo’s estate, ensuring complete control from cherry to dry parchment. As a natural process, the cherries were dried whole, allowing sugars and fruit compounds to slowly infuse into the seed. This method enhances sweetness, body, and complexity while preserving the structured acidity that SL28 is known for.

The Cup

In the cup, this coffee opens with juicy 🍒 red fruit character, followed by a warming layer of 🌿 brown spice that adds depth and complexity. As it cools, the sweetness deepens into 🍎 cooked apple, creating a comforting, almost pastry-like impression. The acidity is bright and lively, the body medium and rounded, and the finish long, sweet, and gently spiced.

A beautifully balanced natural SL28 that showcases both the strength of the varietal and the precision of Volcán Azul’s farming and processing—expressive, polished, and deeply satisfying.

What is the roast recency?

We recommend brewing with beans that are at least two weeks off roast. All beans are roasted to peak flavour at around 8-12 weeks. We have the option to either purchase standard beans (at least 2 weeks but no longer than 6 weeks off roast), or rested beans (at least 7 weeks off roast, no longer than 12). For peak flavour, if you are looking to use immediately, we recommend purchasing the rested beans. If you are adding to your rotation of beans, we recommend purchasing the standard and allowing the beans to naturally rest and mature whilst you rotate through other beans.