Costa Rica La Chumeca

La Chumeca Micromill is owned and operated by Martín Ureña, one of three brothers who have been coffee producers for their entire lives. Martín and his brother Edgar have developed a simple, effective, and inexpensive technique to ensure their Naturals always comprise only the very best, ripest cherry. They have rigged two large blue tanks with some piping and fresh water in order to not only do a quick and thorough float sort, but also to divert the damaged and defective beans out of the way using gravity and the force of the water. This method has improved the brothers' quality tremendously since they began producing Naturals in the early 2010s. After sorting, cherries are spread on raised drying beds, table, tarps, or patios, where they will be rotated constantly throughout the course of drying. Drying can take an average of 30–40 days, depending on the weather. La Chumeca is an idyllic place, and Martín takes great pride in both the gorgeous view and the perfect coffees. There are 50 drying beds, with more added every year, and since 2018 Martín has also been experimenting with anaerobic- environment fermentation.