Costa Rica - SL-28 White Honey

This one’s all about that easy, toffee-like sweetness right up front. You’ll get some cooked fruit, a little raisin hanging in the background, and just enough bright, tart acidity to keep it from getting too heavy. It finishes kind of candy-corn sweet. Clean and super satisfying.

El Venado is a small, family-run setup in Grecia, out in Costa Rica’s West Valley. It’s run by brothers Alexander and Magali Delgado and their families, and they’ve really put in the work over the years planting a bunch of different varieties like SL-28, Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, all to keep quality high and the farms healthy long-term.

The farms are all right next to each other, split into smaller lots so they can make clear observations. Then the mill’s just a few miles away at their home, so once they pick the cherries, they can get them processed the same day. Having the mill on site makes a difference in speed, efficiency and quality.

They do a few different processing styles, but this one’s a White Honey, which means they leave some of the fruit (mucilage) on the seed while it dries, which is where you get that balance of nice sweetness, a little brightness, and a very approachable cup overall.

This lot is SL-28, grown between 1200–1900 meters, and harvested during Costa Rica’s main season, December through April. Just a really solid, well-put-together coffee from people who clearly care about what they’re doing.

Produced by Alexander and Magali Delgado in the West Valley region of Costa Rica, this SL-28 lot showcases the meticulous craftsmanship of Big Shoulders Coffee. The coffee is processed using the white honey method, a technique that leaves a thin layer of mucilage on the bean during drying to influence the final cup profile. Generally, processing methods like honey processing are utilized to balance the acidity of a bean with increased body and perceived sweetness.

The SL-28 varietal, often celebrated for its complex acidity, is presented here with a distinct profile featuring toffee-like sweetness, cooked fruit, raisin, and candy-corn notes. When evaluating these specific characteristics, tasters may find it helpful to reference the flavor wheel to better identify the nuances of this unique harvest. Grown at elevations ranging from 1200 to 1900 masl, this selection highlights the diverse potential of Costa Rican coffee production.