The 30-second version: A medium roast from Alajuela micro farms — sweet apple up front, raisin in the middle, honey on the finish. Naturally sweet enough to choose over a pastry. Brew 1:16 at 200°F; pour-over shows the sweetness best. Taste it before you reach for sugar.
What makes this coffee different
Caturra and Catuai from micro farms in the volcanic-loam highlands above the Central Valley, eco-pulped (less water than traditional washing) and sun-dried. That gentle processing preserves the coffee's natural sugars instead of stripping them — the result is the sweetest cup in our single-origin lineup without a single flavoring added. Sweet apple, raisin, honey. Bright enough to wake you up, soft enough to drink into the afternoon.
Match your grind
- Whole Bean — grind fresh per method below.
- Standard — drip machine, pour-over.
- Coarse — French press, cold brew.
- Espresso — balanced and clean shots; makes a great latte.
Grind targets for whole bean: drip/pour-over = medium (sea salt), French press = coarse (breadcrumbs), espresso = fine (table salt), cold brew = extra coarse (peppercorns).
The recipes
Pour-over — the honey cup. 20g coffee, 320g water at 200°F, medium-fine grind. Bloom 45 seconds, slow spirals, ~3:15 drawdown. This is the method that shows the sweetness best — the apple note arrives first, the honey lingers.
Drip machine — the slow morning. 1:16, Standard grind, 200°F. Sweet, gentle, no effort. The "choose this over a pastry" cup.
French press — raisin and round. 1:15 (30g to 450g), Coarse grind, 200°F, 4 minutes. The raisin middle deepens and the body turns silky. Lovely with breakfast.
Espresso — the clean latte. 18g in, 36g out, 25–30 seconds. Balanced, sweet, no edge. In milk, the honey character survives where brighter coffees get lost — this is secretly one of our best latte coffees.
Iced — sweet without syrup. 22g coffee brewed with 200g hot water at 200°F over 130g ice. The natural sweetness means iced Costa Rica needs nothing added — a rare thing.
The thing most people get wrong: sweetening before tasting
Old habit: coffee = bitter = add sugar. This coffee breaks the equation — the sweetness is already in the bean. Add your usual two sugars before tasting and you'll never know what you bought. Black first, always, then decide. Most people decide it needs nothing.
Dial it in
- Not sweet enough → finer grind or 202°F water. Under-extraction hides sweetness first.
- Too bright/sharp → coarsen slightly or drop to 197°F.
- Flat → fresher grind. Sweetness is volatile — pre-ground loses it first.
- Bitter edge → you've gone too fine or too hot; back off a step.
Storage
Sealed bag, room temperature, away from light. Best within 3–4 weeks of opening — the honeyed aromatics fade before the body does, so drink the sweetness while it's there.
The ritual
Slow morning, no agenda. Pour-over, window light, the hour to yourself. If a coffee ever deserved to replace the pastry, it's this one.
*Every bag of Costa Rica Single Origin helps fund our mission supporting shelter animals — $1 from every order goes to rescue partners.*