The house of
Grand Crü

Deep flavours of cacao and creamy butterscotch complemented with rich dark cherries.

The town of Chelelektu is in Kochere district, close to Yirgacheffe town, found in the Gedeo Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples’ (SNNP) region of Ethiopia. It is amongst the altitudinous towns in the region. Over a number of years, the region has developed a distinguished reputation for fine coffees, producing some of the most sought-after microlots in world. The combination of high altitude (up to 2,200m in some areas), fertile soil, consistent rainfall and an abundance of local knowledge are factors that contribute to the high status of Yirgacheffe coffees.

The indigenous heirloom varietals - which grow wild in Ethiopia- are responsible for the unique flavour notes which make for an unusual but refined cup. When the coffee is processed naturally through sun-drying, it presents a juicy and jammy stone-fruit flavour, floral and chocolatey notes with a creamy body.

The Sanchez family have been working on this land for five generations. Up until the year 2000, there were nine brothers and sisters, and their families, managing their land separately. After years of planning the families pooled their resources together and built the La Candelilla Estate & Micro Mill. It was the first of its kind in Costa Rica and set the stage for many small producers to follow suit. The micro mill explosion demonstrates the sophistication of the processing in Costa Rica.

With so many producers experimenting and taking control of their coffee, the knowledge has exploded. The estate now produces 1,000 bags of coffee a year and is highly regarded as one of the best coffee producers in the country.

The family is one of the few producers in Costa Rica still using traditional fermentation. However, they have built a vast lagoon system that uses native plants to purify the water before it is returned to the river from which it came.

In 1958, Finca La Bolsa was bought by Jorge Vides, a well-known medical professional. Prior to this the land wasn’t used at all for coffee production. Jorge won a number of awards for coffee production and for his services to the region of Huehuetenango and, in recognition of this, the main hospital in the coffee growing community was named after him.

La Bolsa sits between two mountains, which provide a very stable and humid microclimate. Combining this microclimate with the limestone rich soil gives the coffee a very unique profile, with a rich syrupy body and plenty of malic and citric acidity.