Costa Rica Finca Volcán Azul Marsellesa: Sample Coffee Roasters

Costa Rica
Finca Volcán Azul
Marsellesa

We find flavours of raspberry, poached pear, rose water

Body Acidity

This is one of three coffees we received this season from Finca Volcán Azul – all three are different varietals and showcase different processing methods. We started with the San Isidro back in August, and this week we’re on to the second, Marsellesa.

We believe this unique approach to varietals and processing highlights farmer Alejo Castro’s open-minded and diverse approach to his farm. His family have grown coffee in this region for well over 100 years and he has been keen to expand and grow the capacity of the farm as well as the quality of its output.

The varietal Marsellesa is a hybrid designed to flourish in Costa Rica and also presents a resistance to many diseases that blight coffees growing in this region.

This is also a red honey processed coffee, which means during processing at origin around 80-90% of the mucilage remains on the bean. The beans are then dried on raised beds in overcast or shaded conditions, and raked on the first morning and then only once or twice in the afternoon.

You can also listen to an interview with Alejo Castro in this episode of the podcast from April Coffee Roasters in Denmark:

Sourcing and ingredients

100% Marsellesa coffee beans, provided by Condesa Co.Lab and roasted by us on Gadigal land / Sydney.

Country grade: Unknown ?

Packaging

Bag: ABA Certified home compostable
Label: Recyclable
Valve (on bags larger than 250g): General waste
Coffee ordered online is shipped in a recyclable cardboard box

Brewing this coffee

We recommend brewing this coffee 15–49 days post-roast. If pre-ground, brew as soon as possible. Our advice on storing coffee.

1:3
dose:yield
ratio

To brew on espresso, we recommend using 20g of beans (dose) to get 60g of espresso out (yield), during 24-28 seconds.

g dose

g yield

View the how to brew espresso (single origin) guide.

1:16.7
beans:water
ratio

To brew in infusion/fed brewers (V60, Chemex) use a ratio of 1:16.7 ratio of beans:water.

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:14.3
beans:water
ratio

To brew in immersion brewers (plunger, AeroPress, Kalita, batch brewer) we recommend using a 1:14.3 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

1:12
beans:water
ratio

To brew as cold brew we recommend using a 1:12 ratio of beans:water

g beans

g water

View full recipes and videos in our brewguides

Producer: Alejo Castro
Country: Costa Rica
Region: Tarrazú
Altitude: 1500-1700m above sea level
Varietals: Marsellesa
Process: Honey
Harvested: January 2018
Body: Medium
Acidity: Vibrant
Tasting notes: Raspberry, poached pear, rose water
Roast style: Omni

Varietals

Marsellesa varietal

Marsellesa was developed through a hybrid of Sarchimor and Caturra. It’s highly valued for its high quality in the cup and resistance to leaf rust (thanks to its Sarchimor heritage)

The location

Coffee from Costa Rica

Since the mid-2000s there has been an increasing focus on the establishment of micro-mills in Costa Rica to increase their production of traceable, high quality lots of coffee.

The Tarrazú region of Costa Rica

The area generally considered to produce the highest grade coffee in Costa Rica. Farmers from other regions are known to market their coffee as ‘Tarrazú’ due to the strength of the name

Farm processes

Honey process

This technique leaves some flesh on the coffee cherry as it is washed and dried. This tends to give a slightly sweeter flavour, but can also reduce the quality and longevity of the coffee due to the fermentation of the sugars in the flesh.