Gimme! Coffee Costa Rica La Union
The Costa Rica La Union is one of Gimme! Coffee’s relationship coffees. The La Union farm has been owned and run by Maria Elena Camacho for the past 50 years and is comprised of 52 acres perched on a mountain side in the San Rafael area of Costa Rica. Here they produce both the Caturra and Catuai varietals. What is most notable about the La Union farm is that they recently built their own mill, enabling them to better ensure the quality of the beans that they produce.
When I plunged this coffee this morning, the first thing that I noticed was a distinct aroma of molasses. Alongside that are notes of cinnamon, pie dough, nutmeg, and a mildly sweet floral scent. The coffee is very light on the palate, with a somewhat bright acidity. The flavors are very different from the nose. In place of the warm spices are flavors of bright green herbs. I’m thinking chives, fresh basil, fresh thyme. But really, it’s more of a feeling that chewing on those herbs brings, as opposed to the flavors. The way your mouth feels brighter and more lively afterwards. The brightness of the coffee’s acidity alongside these flavors leaves your mouth feeling refreshed after each sip. This highlights the tea-like nature of this coffee. It smells like a somewhat dark roast, but comes across very light, delicate, and fragrant like a black tea might. The finish rounds this all off as the flavors of the coffee meld together in a white line of mild acidity and brightness. No distinct flavors, but a very clear, light, refreshed palate remains behind.
This is quite an enjoyable coffee, but I can’t help in some ways to find it a somewhat transient cup of coffee. While it is a great coffee to sit and drink, it’s doesn’t offer much food for thought. Not that this is a bad thing, not at all. But while the coffee tasted great, it didn’t make me want to run out and grab another pound, the way some other coffees have. It just made me want to linger over the cup a bit, a great accompaniment to whatever book I may be reading at the same time.
This coffee is roasted to a 2 on Gimme’s scale of 1-5, and they certify that it is both shade grown and one of their relationship coffees. Here’s an interesting note on the relationship, or direct trade, coffee idea.I recently finished reading God In A Cup by Michaele Weissman, a book about the big names in today’s specialty coffee industry, such as Peter Guiliano, Geoff Watts, Duane Sorensen, etc. All of the big-name roasters these days tout the coffee that they procure through direct relationships with growers, and the impression is given that the roasters are literally getting the coffee direct from the growers themselves. Instead, Weissman’s book clarifies that even in the most direct relationships the roasters still have to go through middlemen to actually receive the coffee. The relationships that they form allow them to identify and select the best coffees, and to help ensure that the best coffees are grown by forging partnerships with farmers and cooperatives. But to purchase coffees and arrange shipment they must work with middlemen in the actual countries to arrange payments, shipping, etc. So when Gimme! cites the La Union as one of their relationship coffees it’s helpful to keep this in mind. I don’t think that it discredits the notion that they are putting across, but it does provide a bit more clarity in understanding what they could mean by use of the term.
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