The concept behind our Halwa Shop espresso is simple: just like "Halwa" means "sweets," this coffee blends sweet, bold character with a fun, wildly complex, and fruit-forward profile. It’s the perfect gift for any coffee lover seeking unique and exciting flavors.
Dark Berries, cacao, with mellow toffee notes.
The concept behind our Halwa Shop espresso is simple: just like "Halwa" means "sweets," this coffee blends sweet, bold character with a fun, wildly complex, and fruit-forward profile. It’s the perfect gift for any coffee lover seeking unique and exciting flavors.
Dark Berries, cacao, with mellow toffee notes.
Farm
Cerro San Luis Micromill is a family business run by two siblings Alexander and Magali Delgado and their spouses, who own and operate both farms and a small mill in Grecia, in the West Valley. In the interest of improving their quality and remaining competitive, they have focused on growing different varieties, and about 4 years ago they replaced their older stock with 10 or more different types of coffee, including Caturra, Red and Orange Bourbon, SL-28, Catuai, Villa Sarchi, and Maragogype.
The family's farms are adjacent to one another, but the plots are given separate names for lot separation purposes, and the mill is located at the family home, just a few miles away.
After harvesting, the cherry is brought right to the family home, where they are able to do a variety of different processes, from washed and honeys to natural. As is common at mills in Costa Rica, at Cerro San Luis the type of honey is decided by how much mucilage is left on the coffee after depulping.
Microlot
Microlots from Costa Rica are typically sourced from producers who have invested not only in growing their farms, but also in building and operating their own processing facilities, typically called "micromills." Micromills typically yield fewer than 1,000 bags annually, and are often independently owned by a family or small group of producers. Microlots in Costa Rica are separated out based on differentiated characterizations such as processing, variety, or some other aspect. Microlots carry the highest quality as well as the highest level of traceability.
Our Costa Rican office in the capital city of San José: Oxcart Coffee – Cafe Imports Latin America, a full-service import-export operation that allows us to work directly with growers, build better connections and keep a closer eye on the quality and logistics of all coffee shipments leaving Costa Rica bound for Cafe Imports’ sales offices around the globe.
Process: Yellow Honey
Freshly harvested and sorted cherries are delivered to the mill and promptly depulped. After this, the coffee is placed directly onto raised beds for a few days and then transferred to a covered patio where it is turned regularly until the drying process is complete.
Variety: SL-28
This Kenyan variety is derived from a selection made by Scott Labs (1935–1939) from a line of Tanganyika Drought Resistant I trees; possible lineage to coffees from Yemen.
Region: West Valley
The West Valley of Costa Rica is both complex in microclimates, varieties cultivated, and therefore, cup profile. Many of the winners of the Cup of Excellence have come from the West Valley. Notably, the Bourbon mutation Villa Sarchi was discovered in this region, and Kenya varieties such as SL-28 and San Roque are commonly grown. The micromills at high elevation experience cooler weather than the rest of the country, resulting in high sugar production within the cherries and high-quality offerings.
Country: Costa Rica
Costa Rica was the first Central American country to fully establish a coffee industry, with coffee becoming a major export in the 1820s. The completion of a road to Puntarenas in 1846 boosted production, allowing farmers to transport their coffee to market via oxcarts until the 1920s. In 1933, the national coffee association Icafe was founded to support agricultural and commercial development, funded by a 1.5% export tax. Though Costa Rica produces less than 1% of the world's coffee, it is known for its diverse regional profiles, with areas like Tarrazú, West Valley, and Tres Ríos producing distinct flavors. Producers are also focusing on variety selection, with SL-28, Gesha, and local varieties like Villa Sarchi and Venesia gaining popularity.