Costa Rica
Tarrazú
Luis Anastasio Castro
Juanachute
Caturra, Catuai
Red Honey
January
Milk Chocolate, Peach, Red Currant, Vanilla
1800 meters
N/A
69 kg w/ GrainPro
SOLD OUT
The Juanachute micromill was one of the first mills of its kind. Luis Anastasio Castro, better known as Tacho, was an early adapter to the micromill model, and since then many other micromills have learned from his efforts. The Juanachute operation consists of several different plots throughout the Los Santos region and a mill close to the town of San Pablo. The micromill is one of the few at which the entire process is controlled. From planting the coffee trees to sealing the jute bags of green coffee, it is all under the supervision of Don Tacho.
The Castro family also owns a small roastery and coffee shop in the town of San Pablo. One of Tacho’s sons, Luis Anastasio (named after his father), is responsible for launching the barista education program in the local high school with 30 graduates each year. Luis Anatasio also competes in the Costa Rica barista championship proudly serving coffee from Juanachute.
Don Tacho is proud of his farms, his mill, and the final coffee products made with Juanachute coffee, and takes the greatest care in maintaining all three. Ally has been partnered with Juanachute since 2018, buying both microlots and larger volume lots. We are delighted to continue our partnership with Juanachute, and to continue connecting Don Tacho, his family, the team at Juanachute, and their coffees with roasters across the world.
This lot of coffee was named for Don Tacho himself and underwent Red Honey processing at Juanachute. Freshly harvested coffee cherries were first fermented whole for 48 hours. The fermented cherries were then pulped with water before being moved to the drying area. The coffee was dried on sun exposed raised beds for approximately 25 days and then finished in a drum drying oven to ensure consistency.
The Tarrazú region lies in the high mountains of the southern Pacific region south of Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose and is one of the most densely planted high altitude regions in Central America, with many farms at or above 2000 meters above sea level. It is locally known as “Zona de Los Santos” for the number of towns with “San” or “Santa” in their names.
Tarrazú’s climate is characterized by two well-defined seasons; a rainy season lasting seven months (May through November) and a dry season (December through April). This encourages uniform coffee blossoming. On average, precipitation is between 2,400 millimeters (94.5 inches) per year, with an average annual temperature of 19°C (66.2°F).
The fertile, volcanic soils and rolling mountainsides of Tarrazu are well-suited for agriculture, and smallholders grow bananas, avocado, and citrus as well as coffee on properties passed between generations. The spirit of community and family is strong in Tarrazu, with producers caring for their land with pride. Many farms in Tarrazú include primary forest and some degree of shade trees interspersed with coffee and producers take care to protect the natural water sources that spring up from the mountainsides.
