Below Zero Costa Rica

Don Sabino Micromill - Finca El Orvo - Catuaí - Natural

Microlot

Don Sabino Micromill is a father-son project that produces meticulous coffees in what seems like "simple" conditions but with incredible care and attention to detail.

Though the mill was established in 2011, Steven Vargas and his father have both been in coffee their whole lives. They own several plots of farmland in the area, where they grow a number of different varieties: Villa Sarchi is their primary crop, but they also grow Catuai, Caturra, Gesha, SL-28, and a small amount of Mokka. For several of the mill's early years, the Vargas drying beds were full of only Naturals. But lately, Steven is attempting a small amount of Honey coffee as well, “because Luis likes it,” he says of Luis Arocha, the senior green-coffee buyer for Oxcart Coffee: Cafe Imports Latin America, who is based out of the office in San José.

The Don Sabino micromill manages the farms El Apostol, El Orvo, El Llamarón, and La Roca.
 

Natural coffees are typically processed the day they are harvested, and are first sorted for ripeness and quality before being rinsed clean of debris. In many places this initial sorting happens via a float tank: Damaged and defective cherries will float to the top to be removed, while high-quality coffee will sink to the bottom to be cleaned and dried. 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.