Arabica produces more fragrant, sweet and smooth coffee, with fresh, fruity and floral notes.
Sun-dried
Natural and gentle process that preserves the floral and fruity notes in the coffee bean.
Highland
When a coffee is grown at a high altitude, it will produce a cup with higher acidity, more aromatic and flavorful.
Roasted to order
We roast only when you place your order to ensure you receive the freshest roasted coffee possible, directly from Monteverde.
The Journey of Coffee: From Cherry to Bean
Broadly speaking, this is the process:
First, the harvested cherries are classified and cleaned, to separate those that are not ripe or are damaged or affected by an insect.
This can be done by hand or also in washing channels, where the defective or green cherries float (due to their low density) and the ripe ones go to the bottom of the channel (due to their higher density).
The cherries are then laid out on drying patios (usually) or on mats or beds raised from the floor (African beds). As the cherries dry, they must be moved so that they all dry equally. .
The coffee beans that fuel our daily rituals are actually the seeds of a small fruit known as the "coffee cherry." Typically, each cherry contains two seeds, which will eventually become the coffee beans we know and love.
The coffee fruit consists of several layers: the vibrant outer skin (often red or yellow when ripe), the fleshy pulp, a sticky and sugary coating called mucilage, a protective parchment layer, and finally, the silver skin—a thin membrane enveloping the seeds. Extracting the coffee beans requires a meticulous process to remove these layers. This process takes place in specialized facilities known as 'beneficios', which range from small artisanal setups to large-scale industrial operations equipped with advanced machinery.
There are various methods for processing coffee, each of which greatly impacts the flavor profile of the final product. Two of the most common methods are the washed process, which we refer to as 'Classic', and the natural process, where the beans are dried within the whole cherry, enhancing their sweetness and body.
Broadly speaking, this is the process:
First, the harvested cherries are classified and cleaned, to separate those that are not ripe or are damaged or affected by an insect.
This can be done by hand or also in washing channels, where the defective or green cherries float (due to their low density) and the ripe ones go to the bottom of the channel (due to their higher density).
The cherries are then laid out on drying patios (usually) or on mats or beds raised from the floor (African beds). As the cherries dry, they must be moved so that they all dry equally. .
Wash Process (Classic)
Broadly speaking, this is the process:
First, the harvested cherries are classified and cleaned, to separate those that are not ripe or are damaged or affected by an insect.
This can be done by hand or also in washing channels, where the defective or green cherries float (due to their low density) and the ripe ones go to the bottom of the channel (due to their higher density).
The cherries are then laid out on drying patios (usually) or on mats or beds raised from the floor (African beds). As the cherries dry, they must be moved so that they all dry equally. .
Washed coffee, also known as "wet-processed" coffee, refers to a method where the outer layers—the peel (or pulp) and the mucilage—are removed from the coffee cherry before the beans begin to dry. After this process, the beans are left encased only in the parchment layer and the silver skin, which are later removed during pealing and roasting.
This method highlights the intrinsic qualities of the bean itself, producing a cleaner, brighter cup with a more pronounced acidity and a lighter body. By removing the mucilage early in the process, the fruity or fermenting notes are minimized, allowing the natural characteristics of the coffee, such as its origin and varietal, to shine through.
Drying in this type of process generally takes around 7 days.
Natural Process
Broadly speaking, this is the process:
First, the harvested cherries are classified and cleaned, to separate those that are not ripe or are damaged or affected by an insect.
This can be done by hand or also in washing channels, where the defective or green cherries float (due to their low density) and the ripe ones go to the bottom of the channel (due to their higher density).
The cherries are then laid out on drying patios (usually) or on mats or beds raised from the floor (African beds). As the cherries dry, they must be moved so that they all dry equally. .
In natural-processed coffee, the entire coffee cherry—skin, pulp, and mucilage—is dried intact before any layers are removed. Rather than stripping the fruit from the bean at the start, the coffee is allowed to dry within the whole fruit.
This method allows the beans to absorb more of the sugars, flavors, and complexities of the fruit itself, creating a coffee with a fuller body, richer sweetness, and often more intense fruity or wine-like notes. The natural process captures the full essence of the cherry, resulting in a coffee with a more complex and robust flavor profile, as the bean retains 100% of the fruit’s influence during drying.
Drying in this type of process generally takes 20 days, although depending on weather conditions, it could take up to four weeks.
