Coffee from Costa Rica

[Mr.Peaberry]

My daughter just returned from two weeks in Costa Rica. She brought back two pounds of R&G coffee, and one bag of whole bean. All bags were bought at a supermarket there, but she said they sought out a market that had a large selection of brands and asked the clerk which, in his opinion, were the best. The brands were Volio and 1880 (or something like that) for the roast and ground, and Cafe Brit for the whole bean. Despite the evident staling that had occured on the R&G coffees, my wife really liked them...they are smooth and good even stale compared to the coffee she drinks at work. I just opened the whole bean, and it's not much fresher...no idea of the roast date...but it is a bit more lively than the other two, which might be that the beans used were of a higher grade. I definitely need to get a better cup of coffee today in honor of National Coffee Day...so it's off to Peete's now. I will update on this thread when I return.

Cheers!

 

[ensoluna]

Before I went into coffee business, Volio was one of my favorite coffees from Central America.

Whenever I went to San Jose, I always stayed at Grand Hotel, right in the center. right next door street was "mercado" (market for low to mid income people). In there, they had Volio coffee wholesale store. It was extremely cheap. I think that I paid couple of dollars for a pound of freshly roasted coffee. they were roasting at the shop everyday.

You are right Mr.P. the coffee is extremely smooth (no acidity, no bitterness) which is great for Asian people who likes JBM / Kona / Luwak..etc, however, not much of coffee profile.

I have not been in San Jose for five years, but when I have a chance to go down, I would love to stop by again and buy whole bunch of them. Very different flavor than what I have in Guatemala. for me, it is completely opposite of Huehue coffee, but I also like them very much.

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

Thanks Alex. I expected that you might be familiar with one or more of the brands. I can't wait to visit Costa Rica after hearing about my daughter's travels, and seeing the pictures. Of course Guatemala would be included in this trip, so I will definitely touch base with you to time according to when you'll be there!!

Also, at Pete's today there was nothing acknowledging that it was National Coffee Day, as I thought would there would be. My coffee selection? They had a light roast Columbian "Luminosa". Is this an estate coffee, region, or name of a certain beneficio? It is good, very smooth and with a nice body, kinda how I like women...sorry, sorry...couldn't resist

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

Side note:

I just learned that the IT guy at the company for which I work is from Costa Rica. He mentioned the 1882 coffee, so now I have my missing number...yay for me!! Small world. He has an uncle who is at a director level for Dole in Costa Rica, and another relative who works for Hewlett Packard at a VP level there. Apparently HP has built a large facility in the country for its' help desk, and employs a lot of workers who have good English comprehension and speaking skills. From what he tells me, many US citizens have relocated there to live and work in paradise. The pay is meager by US standards, but one can "live like a king" on the salary there. I'm not convinced, but okay...maybe the king of a very small and very poor country, but still a king...just sayin'!

 

[tmcc]

I have reviewed several coffees over the past few weeks from roasters from Canada to Texas and all the results were excellent. One that I had never tried was a fire-roasted bean from Texas. This was an exceptionally good coffee. It has the heartiness of an oak burning fire on a warm autumn night.

 

[ensoluna]

It has the heartiness of an oak burning fire on a warm autumn night.

hi tmcc.
exactly what flavor is "heartiness of an oak burning fire on a warm autumn night"?
and what kind of coffee (varietal and roasted level (light med, med, dark roast...etc) was it?