Costa Rica - Hermosa - Forge Coffee

Mr Estanislao Ureña Mora was responsible for introducing coffee to the area, and gave seeds to his brother Jose Ureña Mora. Between the two, they sowed a plantation of two hectares and produced their coffee without the use of agrochemicals. Then came Ramon Blanco who built a wet mill in San Pablo de Leon Cortes, and producers began taking their coffee there. In 1929 a wet mill was built in Santa Maria, but as there was so much uncertainty in prices, producers turned to the Banco Nacional (National Bank), which had a department where farmers were given recommendations on how to process their own coffee. Thus was born Coopedota R.L.

The varietals grown are mainly Caturra and Catuai, but some farmers are experimenting with Obata, the cross between Timor Hybrid and Villa Sarchi brought to Costa Rica from Brazil by ICAFE in 2014. This has been part of the mix since 2019. Coffee from here is picked by hand and pulped mechanically, leaving it clean and ready for the fermentation stage and drying on patios. For the honey process, 70% of the mucilage is left on the bean before following a similar path – the cherry being agitated just enough to ensure even drying without any over fermentation.