Anaerobic Dry Process | Medium–Medium Dark Roast
Tasting Notes: Dark Chocolate Rum Cake, Cherry Cordial, Palo Santo, Tobacco, Blackstrap Molasses
Step into the lush hillside between San José and the famed Tarrazú region, where a quiet 11-hectare farm called Finca Arecas is producing some of the most intriguing anaerobic coffee coming out of Costa Rica right now.
Roasted to a medium to medium-dark profile, this coffee opens with intense bittersweet depth — dark chocolate rum cake layered over dried cherry and berry notes that carry a subtle, winey edge. There's a cherry cordial sweetness at its core, rich and rounded, backed by woodsy palo santo and warming whole spices. The finish is long and satisfying, with loose leaf tobacco lingering in a way that makes you want to sit with the cup a little longer. It's bold without being brash — deeply complex, but never chaotic.
For an anaerobic coffee, Finca Arecas shows remarkable restraint. The fruit notes are there, but they don't overpower. Instead, a bittersweet backbone keeps everything proportional and grounded. This is controlled intensity at its best.
The Story Behind Finca Arecas
Rodolfo Valverde's farm sits at roughly 1,450 meters in Palmichal de Acosta — a sort of buffer zone between the bustle of Costa Rica's capital and the quiet, coffee-rich Tarrazú highlands. Planted in Caturra and Pacas San Ramon varieties, Finca Arecas is modest in size but ambitious in quality.
Rather than building his own micro mill, Rodolfo works with the nearby Palmichal mill, a facility equipped for both large-volume production and small experimental lots. For this particular coffee, the whole cherries were sealed in airtight barrels with one-way valves and fermented for approximately 70 hours before being moved to covered raised beds for slow, even drying.
That anaerobic fermentation is what gives this coffee its distinctive character — the winey fruit notes, the fermented depth, the intensity that carries through every sip. It's innovative processing rooted in traditional Costa Rican coffee culture, and the result speaks for itself.
Coffee Details
- Origin: Palmichal de Acosta, Costa Rica
- Producer: Rodolfo Valverde
- Farm: Finca Arecas (11 hectares)
- Altitude: ~1,450 meters
- Variety: Caturra, Pacas San Ramon
- Process: Anaerobic Dry Process (~70 hr fermentation)
- Roast Level: Medium to Medium-Dark
- Grade: SHB (Strictly Hard Bean)
☕ Best Brew Methods
- Pour Over (V60, Chemex, Kalita)
- French Press (brings out the chocolate and tobacco body)
- Espresso (rich, syrupy shots with cherry sweetness)
- Excellent with milk — deep chocolate notes shine in lattes and cortados
Why You'll Love It
If you chase coffees with depth and character — the kind that make you stop and actually think about what you're tasting — this one's for you. Finca Arecas doesn't scream for attention, it earns it. Dark chocolate, cherry, tobacco, and a finish that won't quit. This is what happens when careful farming meets bold processing, and it's a beautiful thing.
Costa Rica has always been synonymous with clean, balanced coffees. This anaerobic lot from Finca Arecas shows another side — wilder, deeper, and utterly compelling.