La Candelilla Geisha Natural

La Candelilla was one of the very first micromills established in the popular coffee-growing region of Tarrazú in Costa Rica. It’s a collaboratively owned micromill, established by 7 smallholder producers who share ownership. This particular lot is from one of the founders of the mill, Ricardo Hernandez Naranjo, who was among the first to suggest to his farmer mates that they should start the “mini beneficio.”

Don Ricardo has been growing coffee for 32 years, and is dedicated to quality and sustainability, as are many of the producers who utilize La Candelilla. Don Ricardo also worked for 10 years as a consultant at beneficios in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and even Tanzania, helping mills improve their processing and learning more about coffee quality.

“The production of processing specialty coffees is something I have been studying for 15 years,” he says through a translator. “I have had to develop the processes as well as to identify the different varieties for special batches.” He grows several different varieties and processes them in a variety of ways. His trees grow in rich ultisol, which is a type of red-clay soil that is particularly fertile in humid tropical or subtropical areas. This soil composition contains no calcium carbonate or lime. Once the ripe cherry is brought to the mill, it is processed depending on the profile and the weather.

This particular geisha lot is a natural process and is resplendent in intense fruit notes with tasting notes of jammy orange, hibiscus tea, and vanilla custard.