Costa Rica Rosa Aura and Mexico Las Cotorras
Extra Bold Profile | Dark roast
Tasting Notes: Pine, Toasted Almond, Smoked Caramel
IT ALL STARTS AT THE COFFEE FARM
This captivating dark roast blend combines two Central American coffees that are incredible on their own: the Costa Rica Rosa Aura and Mexico Las Cotorras. The Rosa Aura gives us heady winter spices and apple cider, while the Mexican coffee provides a solid, chocolatey base.
Rosa Aura Navarro Monestel
Doña Rosa Aura runs this family farm along with her husband, Carlos Ramírez Martínez. The farm’s name, Amalieth, comes from the names of their mothers Amalia and Elieth, to honor their legacy. The farm was founded 23 years ago, and now the entire family is involved in all stages of coffee production, taking care of and preserving the surrounding flora and fauna.
The land is 80% planted with coffee, and the family is constantly innovating and introducing new technologies that allow for the improvement and maintenance of the coffee farm - such as the micromill they built. They also apply family traditions passed down from generation to generation.
The family grows, harvests and processes their coffee according to strict environmental standards. According to Marycruz Navarro (daughter) and Rosa Aura Navarro (mom), "As we do natural process, we are 100% environmentally friendly since there is no water contamination generated, and the residues produced by the peeling process are used partly as fertilizer for our coffee plantations. As part of our commitment to the environment, we have received training courses such as Care Training, Care Trade by Bean Voyage, and Good Agricultural Practices course provided by the State Phytosanitary Service. We are a certified farm in the AAA and Rainforest Alliance programs, so we take care of and preserve the surrounding flora and fauna. We use rainwater for irrigation and do not use herbicides. Instead, we cut the weeds with a knife and a weed cutter to maintain green cover. Regarding fertilizers, we apply the technique of 3 washes to generate the least possible contamination."
The Ramizez/Navarro family describes themselves as a team driven by passion and love for coffee. Follow them on Instagram @amaliethcoffee !
Las Cotorras
Grown by Rogelia Angel & Dario Roblero, two small-scale producers in the highlands of Chiapas near the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, this coffee gets its name from the cotorras birds that nest in coffee growing areas, and have become a symbol of authenticity and freedom in the region. El Triunfo contains the very last of the Central American cloud forests, where naturally occurring condensation is trapped by the forest, giving life to a large number of plant and animal species.
TRACEABILITY
COUNTRY
Costa Rica & Mexico
REGION
Tablon de el guarco, Cartago & Chiapas
IMPORTER
Bean Voyage and Caravela
VARIETAL
Catuai Rojo, Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, Mundo Novo
PRODUCER
Rosa Aura Navarro Monestel, Rogelia Angel & Dario Roblero
MILL / WASHING STATION
On the farms
PROCESSING
Washed and Natural
ALTITUDE
1300 - 2000 meters
DID YOU KNOW
Coffee in Chiapas has been cultivated mainly by smallholders, who are usually descendants of Indigenous tribes. This is a result of the policies of the Zapatistas, who regulate farm size in order to protect indigenous rights to land access.
PRICE TRANSPARENCY
$5.85 & $3.75
Price paid by Driftaway
$5.55 & $2.91
Free on Board price
$4.94 & $2.36
Farm Gate price
$2.13 & $2.01
Fair Trade price per pound
$1.93 & $1.81
Coffee C-Market price per pound
$0.05
Driftaway's World Coffee Research contribution per pound
The Costa Rican coffee travelled 3,990 miles and the Mexican coffee travelled 2,909 miles to the Driftaway Coffee roastery in Brooklyn.
Love the coffee? You can share your compliments & tasting observations with the farmers.
WHY DID WE SELECT THESE COFFEES FOR THE BLEND?
Both of these coffees did really well as single origins earlier this year, and it was a no-brainer to combine the brighter Costa Rican with the rich and chocolatey Mexican coffee.
AVERAGE CUPPING SCORE
86.75 & 85.75
/100
86.75 & 85.75
SCAA Cupping Score
15 of each x 69 k
Bags purchased
1 & 5 years
Length of producer relationship
100% (in 2023)
Transparent coffees purchased
HOW DID WE ROAST THIS COFFEE?
This coffee is being roasted by Ian T. from December 31 to January 24 in Brooklyn. We use the Loring Kestrel roaster for this profile. We have strict guidelines for each of the coffee profiles, and this roast has to pass the development time ratio test as measured in real-time by the roasting software, Cropster. Once it does, it is approved for production.
QUALITY CONTROL
We perform Quality Control via a process of coffee tasting called cupping on all of our production roasts once a week at our roastery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Each cupping is conducted by James M. and Ian T. using standard equipment, and is logged by our Q-certified cupper Ian T. All coffees are evaluated on a scoring scale of 0 to 3.
- 3.0 = exceptional roast - exceeds expectations
- 2.5 = on par with profile - matches expectations
- 2.0 = good roast, but 1 or 2 elements could be improved - needs improvement
- 1.5 or lower = failed - do not ship
PRODUCTION AND SHIPPING
Less than 24 hours after roasting, we bag your coffee in our production facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Our production team is led by Anthony and Torie, and supported by a rotating cast of local artists, musicians and independent professionals.
AT YOUR HOME
Brew this coffee with your favorite home brewer and enjoy the taste of incredible coffee! Here are a few tips on how to make the best coffee on each brewer.
View other posts about how to make better coffee at home on our blog Coffeecademy.