Behind the cup: Party Trick - Costa Rica

Everyone's got a party trick. The best ones are the kind where you can't quite work out how it's done — where you replay it afterwards going, wait, how? This is that coffee.

Off Leash — For Adventurous Drinkers

The Cup

Toffee apple up front — sweet, rich, unmistakable — then dark rum rolls in and takes the wheel. There's a syrupy, winey depth here that makes you put the cup down and look at it twice. It shouldn't taste this complex, and yet it absolutely does. The kind of thing you'd call a party trick, if you could explain it.

Behind the Beans

Oscar and Francisca Chacón have been doing things their way since 2005, when they left the co-op, built their own micromill at Finca La Julia, and started calling their own shots. Their Alma Negra process is a slow, patient one — ripe cherries sun-dried by day, piled up and rested by night, over and over until the flavour is fully locked in. It takes conviction to do it this way, and the cup makes the case. We found this one through Cafe Imports, who have been connecting roasters with producers doing things properly for decades.

How to Drink It

Pull it as espresso for a full, theatrical shot that'll raise eyebrows. Or brew it as filter on a slow morning when you've got time to pay attention — this one rewards it.

The Specs

Personality:     Off Leash

We taste:        Toffee Apple • Dark Rum • Syrupy • Winey

Origin:          Finca La Julia, Central Valley, Costa Rica

Altitude:        1,400–1,600 MASL

Producer:        Oscar & Francisca Chacón, Las Lajas Micromill

Variety:         San Isidro

Process:         Alma Negra (Natural)

Roasted For:     Espresso or Filter

Imported by:     Cafe Imports

Pick a card. It's always the Party Trick. Grab a bag → https://www.groundskeeperwillie.com/collections/store-coffee-espresso