Don Eli • Anaerobic Catuai

Recommended Roast Level

City (Light)

Tasting Notes

White Chocolate - This coffee is interesting! The profile is very sweet and has a smooth mouthfeel, much like white chocolate.

Sangria - The sweet, fruity, and aromatic funkiness of sangria is very descriptive of this cup. The anaerobic fermentation process is what causes this unique alcoholic essence to take place.

Snow Cone - Not only does this coffee have a lot of sugary and fruited sweetness, but it’s also quite fun! Sno cone encapsulates both of these ideas very well.

Don Eli Coffee Production

Carlos Montero is one of the most prolific farmers to come out of the landscape of Costa Rica’s coffee producing culture. Some of his earliest memories recall picking up fallen coffee cherries off of the ground in order to help his family or make some extra spending money. When Carlos was growing up, Costa Rica felt like a different place - it was a country on the brink of development and Carlos remembers being brought up very humbly. Eli, his father, worked as an employee of a land owner that grew coffee in the area in which Carlos’ wet mill is today. Eli worked tirelessly as a farm hand, responsible for establishing many of the plantations still producing today, and was known around the village for selling lottery tickets to make extra money. Eventually, Carlos’ dad was able to acquire some land of his own in order to grow coffee and turned out to be one of the founding members of the world famous CoopeDota in 1960. The cooperative model of production continued to be the engine of coffee farming in Costa Rica and enabled Eli and his wife, Clara Luz , to provide a good life for their family of 9.

The dream of bridging his background as a coffee producer with his love of people and places continued to drive Carlos throughout his transformation into a settled down adult. He spent a few years in New Jersey, USA working in diners as a dishwasher, cook, and server to save up for his very own farms back home in Costa Rica. Carlos looks back on this pivotal time in his life fondly and is thankful for the opportunity to have experienced so many fascinating cultures while saving for the ability to have his own farms. After returning to his beloved Tarrazu with some savings, the help of his family, and cunning negotiations - Carlos acquired his first properties to grow coffee. For years, he was content managing his farms commercially, delivering his fruit to nearby cooperatives, and building a community with his new family - Lucia, Marianela, Jacob, and Maria Jose. Until, he began to take notice of a new phenomenon taking place around him - the micro mill revolution.

Highlights