Located in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, Poas has fertile volcanic soil and is one of the earliest producers of honey processed coffee and sun-dried coffee. Poas is a 100% organic coffee farm. The owner believes that the organic farming method is a better choice for environmental protection and the health protection of the family. Even when faced with many technical and organization challenges, he still firmly believes in his conviction. The high quality coffee produced in this farm is very unique and the most striking characteristic is that the coffee is exceptionally sweet! The coffee shot up in fame during the 2009 specialty coffee competition. During harvesting season, the Brix meter which is used wine industries is adopted to measure the sugar content in the coffee fruit. Depending on the sugar content measured by Brix meter, different optimal harvesting time and processing methods will be adopted. Only fruits that exceed 20% sweetness will need to be sundried. The Brix value for general fruits is 14 for apples, 12 for lemons, 18 for passion fruits, but the fiery phoenix coffee cherry can reach up to 21-22% on the Brix meter. The farm highly values environmentally friendly processing concepts (for example, collecting rainwater for wet processing of coffee), and has cultivated earthworms (worm compost) as organic fertilizers to ensure that no chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used during the growing stage.
●Zahiro
The natural processing procedure for Zahiro is very labor intensive as the workers have to pick the high sugar content cherries by hand and place the cherries in the African drying bed to dry for ten days. After which, the cherries will be placed in a large shack covered with plastic to create direct thermal for continued drying until the moisture content reaches 11.5%. The slow drying process can allow the raw beans to develop more natural sweetness but more care must also be taken to continuously turn the beans over and over. When at last all the red cherries turn black, the coffee beans will exude a fruity, sugary or even wine aroma!
●Black Rose
Black Rose are is a special sun-dried product. Using special processing techniques, the drying time of the Zahiro and Black Rose on the drying bed is extended but the difference is that the Black Rose will only need to be turned a few times during its drying on the African drying bed. Such a process will bring out the distinct coffee flavor.
