Costa Rica – La Guaca Red Honey
Origin: Costa Rica
Region: Chirripó
Producer: Ureña Rojas Family / Café Rivense
Variety: Catuai
Process: Sealed Fermentation Red Honey
Elevation: 1,300–1,825 MASL
Roasted for: Filter
Tastes Like
🥭 Tropical Fruit – vibrant and juicy with exotic sweetness
🍑 Yellow Plum – ripe and tangy, bringing balance and brightness
🍯 Caramelised Almond – smooth sweetness with nutty depth
🌸 Florals – delicate and elegant, lingering softly in the background
In the Cup
Vibrant, elegant, and full of life — La Guaca is one of our favourite coffees each year and the result of our ongoing collaboration with Supernova Bakehouse in Prague. This year’s harvest is exceptional, offering layers of tropical fruit, ripe stone fruit, and a caramelised nut sweetness that ties everything together. It’s balanced, complex, and endlessly drinkable — a true testament to Café Rivense’s craftsmanship.
About the Producer
Café Rivense del Chirripó is a family-run micromill founded in 2005 by Régulo Ureña and Isabel Rojas in the lush mountains of Chirripó, Costa Rica. The entire Ureña family — sons Ricardo, Mario, Esteban, and Luis — work together across every stage of production, from farming and processing to export.
What makes Café Rivense so special is their holistic approach to coffee production. Over the years, they’ve achieved complete independence — hand-picking, processing, milling, and exporting their own coffees. Their farm is a model of sustainability and biodiversity, with native plants and shade trees protecting the soil and supporting local ecosystems. They practice responsible fertilisation, minimal water use, and maintain full traceability from cherry to export container.
Processing
This Red Honey lot underwent sealed fermentation, a technique that allows the coffee to develop heightened sweetness and complexity while retaining remarkable clarity. After selective hand-picking, the cherries were depulped with mucilage left intact, then sealed for a controlled fermentation before being dried carefully on raised beds.
The result is a coffee that’s clean, structured, and deeply expressive — full of fruit, sweetness, and texture, with Café Rivense’s unmistakable signature of precision and harmony.
Why We Love It
La Guaca never disappoints. Each year, it showcases Café Rivense’s mastery of honey processing and their deep respect for their environment. The cup is tropical, rich, and graceful — a standout representation of Costa Rican innovation and family-driven excellence.
Swerl sourced this in collaboration with 88 Graines.