Costa Rica Finca Reina Elizabeth

Finca Reina Elizabeth is an eight-hectare farm in Costa Rica's West Valley, run by producer Marvin Barrantes. Everything here is done with care and attention: a clever wet mill designed for the scale of the operation, beautifully maintained raised drying beds and greenhouses. Marvin is hands-on with every part of production.

The coffee is Sarchimor, a hybrid of Villa Sarchí and the Timor Hybrid. In the right hands it produces something seriously delicious. And Marvin knows exactly what he is doing.

For this Black Honey lot, ripe cherries are hand-picked and depulped without water before being spread across raised African drying beds inside a greenhouse. Left untouched for the first three days to allow fermentation to develop and mucilage to form, then broken up and turned regularly for another 12–14 days.

The result is bright, sweet and silky: juicy nectarine, forest berries and delicate florals with plenty of depth and jammy sweetness, and the clean, balanced character Costa Rica is known for.