We are excited to announce the arrival of two outstanding coffees from Costa Rica, going head-to-head in a coffee bout right here at AlterraCoffee.com. Costa Rica Day Lot #17 and Lot #48 are available online beginning Friday, July 31st or in all our cafes Monday, August 3rd through the end of the week. These coffees come to us from Coopedota cooperative in Santa Maria de Dota, Tarrazu. We’ve tried them both and simply can’t decide which one we better - they’re that good! What is a day lot and how is it special? Read below for an explanation and further info about the farms, coffees, and the cooperative.  After you’ve tried both coffees, please cast your vote for “El Campeón del Valle” and help us crown the champ! 

(In addition to voting, we encourage all you coffee lovers out there to post a comment with your impressions of Day Lot #17 and #48. On Monday, August 10th we’ll randomly select a comment and reward one of our customers with an Alterra gift box.)

Founded in 1960 and exporting high quality coffee ever since, Coopedota is one of the most successful coffee cooperatives in Central America.  In an effort to showcase their best coffees, in 2006 Coopedota began isolating small lots from farmers that have the potential to produce extremely high quality.  These small “day lots” represent the harvest from one single day by just a few of the 750 or so farmers in the cooperative.  And while these lots are reminiscent of the standard coffee from Dota, they exhibit a level of quality and have a unique character that can only come from separating a single delivery from a unique place within the farm. 

All of the coffee that comes into Coopedota is depulped the same day it was harvested.  After the skin and pulp is removed, the sticky mucilage that remains on the husk that surrounds the bean is either removed via traditional fermentation in cement tanks, or removed mechanically using water and friction.  Both of these methods are considered “washed”, and while we tend to prefer fermentation, this year the highest scoring washed lot, Day-Lot #17, came from the mechanical demucilager.  The best day-lots from Dota exhibit effervescent, limey acidity that balances medium, supportive body with pronounced flavors of butter, cocoa, cherry and honey.  Day-Lot #17 is the most expressive example we tasted this year.

Also this year, Coopedota began experimenting with a third processing method that has recently become more popular in Costa Rica. The pulped-natural, or “Honey” process is unique because the coffee is depulped (skin and fruit removed) and then moved right to the drying patio, bypassing the fermentation or mechanical demucilaging step.  Coffees that are dried with the mucilage on the husk tend to have sweeter, thicker body and somewhat diminished but very lush acidity.  Day-Lot #48 is an excellent example of this processing method.


DOTA DAY LOT #17 - WASHED
Mechanically Demucilaged, Mechanically Dried
Santa Maria de Dota, Tarrazu, Costa Rica; Caturra variety at 1600-1800 meters above sea level; Picked Ripe and Processed on December 29, 2008; Selected by Alterra from hundreds of top-quality lots from Coopedota in April 2009; Delivered fresh in GrainPro-Lined Burlap to Alterra on July 17, 2009

Acidity: bright, crisp, sweet-tart
Mouthfeel: full, structured, finishes clean
Flavor: dry cocoa, lemon peel, cherry

The farmers who contributed to this lot:
Ureña Ureña Luis Alberto from San luis
Ureña Monge Carlos Andrés from San Pablo
Ureña Zumbado Jose Daniel from La Maquina
Solis Mata Gerardo from El Rincon
Hernández Rivera Miguel Angel from El Quemado
Orravan Sociedad Anónima from San Rafael
Zumbado Ureña Julita from El Imas
Ureña Hidalgo Jose Alberto - El Imas
Fernández Madrigal Jose Alberto - El Quemado
Badilla Rojas Ana María - Las Nubes
Picado Jimenez Claudio - El Llano
Ureña Umaña Alexander - Higueronal
Cordero Romero Ana María - El Medina


DOTA DAY LOT #48 - “HONEY” PROCESS
De-pulped and Sun-dried
Santa Maria de Dota, Tarrazu, Costa Rica; Caturra variety at 1600-1800 meters above sea level; Picked Ripe and Processed on January 17, 2009;
Selected by Alterra from hundreds of top-quality lots from Coopedota in April 2009; Delivered fresh in GrainPro-Lined Burlap to Alterra on July 17, 2009

Acidity: lush, vibrant,
Mouthfeel: full, syrupy, lingering
Flavor: floral notes, sherry, candied orange

The farmers who contributed to this lot:
Madrigal Monge María Elena
Madrigal Ureña Diego Armando
Umaña Badilla Luis Arturo
Cordero Cordero Manuel Emilio
Valverde Madrigal Alonso
Camacho Romero Róger
Ramirez Jimenez Osvaldo
Vega Navarro Lesmes
Agüero Elizondo Otilia
Ramirez Brizuela Haydee
Monge Cascante Maria Isabel

Please enjoy this unique opportunity to compare the differences that processing methods can have on the flavor and body of coffees from the same farm.  Vote for your favorite and crown the 2009 Champion of the Valley. Enjoy!