Coffeeopolis

Roasting: Costa Rica Dota Tarrazu Hermosa

December 3rd, 2006

I’ve roasted a few quarter pound batches of Costa Rica Dota Tarrazu Hermosa from Sweet Marias, and am really impressed so far. I’m roasting it well into the second crack, until the oils are starting to appear on many of the beans. The result is making great espresso. Not my all-time favorite, but I’d rate it as four out of five stars. I’m using my iRoast2, with the following temperature profile (keep in mind that the temperatures you set the iRoast to are actually quite a bit different than the actual air temperature the beans are being subjected to:

Sweet Marias describes this bean as ‘mild to medium intensity/winey fruited notes, berry, tea.’ All I can say is, it’s darn good and I need to learn how to better describe coffee flavors!

Sweet Maria’s notes on this particular bean are:

Dota is a sub-region of Tarrazu, a valley that is, well, sort of bowl-like. Not only is the altitude exceptionally high (5,000 to 6,000 feet) but the physical shape of the valley also contributes to a unique cup character that (if you follow our track record buying Dota coffees) is extraordinary. Caturra culitivar may contribute to the fruited note in the cup, and altitude makes this bright, snappy acidity possible, so the winey notes we might attribute to the special weather and soil of the Dota microregion. The dry grounds have a very chocolate bittersweet to them, but there are toasted almond accents too. When the hot water hits the grounds, I get a pleasantly surprising black tea aroma laced with floral notes. The City+ roast I did of this coffee is outstanding: I get blackberry tea flavors, floral elements, and that unique winey fruit found in great Dota coffees. It’s sweet from start to finish, with fairly light body. I get some mint herbal hints in the finish, fading to red grape. This is an excellent Dota coffee, with true origin character (or terroir, if you prefer the wine language). The long aftertaste has this pesistent clean berry-to-grape sweetness, a cleanly disappearing cup.

Entry Filed under: Roasting