Costa Rica - Don Alfonso 'Entre Rios' Natural

Light Roast

Tastes Like: Rosemary, Rock Melon, Raspberry Process: Natural Varietal: Obata Region: Turrialba Good For: Manual brewing / Pour-over

Nestled between the Aquiares and Turrialba Rivers, “Aquiares” means “land between rivers” in Costa Rica’s Huetar indigenous language. The region where the farm is located used to be the centre for this pre-Columbian civilization

All Aquiares coffee is picked by hand to ensure consistent high quality. Micro lots, such as this one, are picked by a special team of skilled harvesters who are paid well above the daily rate for their exceptional skill in picking the ripest cherries at each pass. Each tree is visited up to seven times during the harvest to ensure that only fully red ripe cherries are picked. The skilled hands of the pickers represent the farm’s most valuable asset.

This specific lot underwent the Natural process, and began with the cherries being floated for density (with all floaters being removed) and then being immediately moved to the farm's solar dryer patios (large greenhouse with ceramic floors) for pre-drying. After 2-3 days of pre-drying on the ceramic floors, they are moved to the farm’s raised beds, also in the covered greenhouse, where they slowly dry for around 10 days. Finally, the dried cherries are moved to Guardiola's to dry mechanically for 1 day to complete the process.

Limited stock. Order soon.

Don Alfonso's "Entre Rios" lot showcases the natural-processed method, a technique that emphasizes fruit-forward character through extended contact between bean and fruit during drying. Roasted by Nightjar Coffee, this Costa Rican Obata from the Turrialba region presents an intriguing interplay of herbal and stone-fruit notes—rosemary bringing earthy complexity alongside the sweeter registers of rock melon and raspberry. Natural processing tends to produce heavier, more pronounced fruit expression than washed methods, and this lot's tasting profile reflects that tendency. For a deeper dive into how processing methods shape final cup character, or to explore the sensory dimensions of these flavors further, consult the flavor wheel.