Santa Teresa El Toño - White Honey Catuai | Costa Rica

Costa Rica — Roger Ureña Hidalgo, Beneficio Santa Teresa 2000, Catuai (White Honey)

Tastes Like — 🍫 Milk Chocolate • 🍊 Orange Zest • 🍮 Caramel 

DETAILS

• Producer: Roger Ureña Hidalgo
• Farm/Mill: Beneficio Santa Teresa 2000
• Region: Tarrazú, Costa Rica
• Varietal: Catuai
• Process: White Honey
• Altitude: 1,900 MASL
• Score: 87
  
• Roast: Espresso
• Size: 200g

INTRO

Santa Teresa El Toño reveals a gourmet cup with notes of milk chocolate, caramel and orange zest — round, smooth and gloriously complex. Roasted for both espresso and filter, this is one of Kawa's most celebrated coffees from their long-running relationship with the Ureña family.

THE PRODUCER

Roger Ureña Hidalgo is a third-generation coffee farmer who spent his childhood exploring the coffee-covered mountain slopes of the Tarrazú growing region, absorbing knowledge passed down from his father and grandfather. Together with his son Alex, he now owns and operates a handful of small farms including El Vapor, as well as the micro-mill Beneficio Santa Teresa 2000, where all of his coffees are carefully processed.

Roger and Alex have also opened a specialty coffee shop in the small town of Guayabal, in the valley below their farms — sharing the fruits of their work with the local community. Their unrivalled expertise in specialty coffee is reflected in the complexity and consistency of every lot they produce.

THE PROCESS

The White Honey process at Beneficio Santa Teresa 2000 involves:

• 🍒 Selective Hand Picking — Only fully ripe red cherries are harvested from the high-altitude slopes
• 🔧 Pulping — The outer skin is removed whilst most of the mucilage is intentionally left on the bean
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — Beans are dried on African-style raised beds, allowing even airflow around each bean
• ✅ Quality Sorting — Each lot is meticulously sorted before milling and export

By leaving the bulk of mucilage intact during drying, the White Honey method imparts a characteristic sweetness and body that bridges the clarity of a washed coffee with the richness of a natural.

THE CUP

This is a rich, warm espresso with a beautifully integrated sweetness. Milk chocolate and caramel provide a gourmet foundation, whilst orange zest lifts the profile with a bright, aromatic finish. Round-bodied and smooth — a comforting, reliable classic.

Flavour Notes

• 🍫 Milk Chocolate
• 🍊 Orange Zest
• 🍮 Caramel