Introduction to Costa Rica Cerro Paldo Estate - Costa Rican Coffee Flavor Characteristics

About Cerro Paldo

Cerro Paldo is located in the Los Santos region, where coffee trees are cultivated at an impressive altitude of 1650 meters. The coffee-growing area spans only 1.5 hectares, which led the producer to join the ASOPROAAA (ASO DE PROD DE ASER Y ACOST) cooperative. This cooperative allows him to apply his own meticulous approach to coffee processing. The harvested coffee cherries have achieved championship status, owing not only to the exceptional estate conditions but also to the careful selection of only optimally ripe cherries and personal supervision of every post-harvest detail, resulting in outstanding quality.

Exceptional Flavor Profile

For the first time, 20 judges simultaneously found that a particular coffee possessed an incredibly rich and indescribable diversity. They used the term "multidimensional" to describe the initial flavor profile of Cerro Paldo.

Outstanding Achievements

Achieved an impressive score of 92 in COE cupping, and scored 93 points in the 2009 Coffee Review.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over parameters suggestion: we recommend a V60 dripper, a Fujima setting of 3.5, a water temperature of 90°C, a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, 15 g of coffee brewed with 225 g of water, and a total brewing time of 2 minutes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A coffee as layered as Cerro Paldo deserves a dripper that can show it off, and the V60 is FrontStreet's go-to. Hario, the company behind the V60, was founded in Tokyo in 1921, and in 2004 it redesigned the early prototype into the 60-degree cone we know today, naming it for its distinctive "V." Its large single hole slows the water into the centre and lengthens contact with the grounds, so aroma and flavour extract fully, while flow is controlled by the brewer's pour and shows directly in the cup.

For the delicate, fruity, floral coffees that suit a V60, FrontStreet's Guodingding Cooperative is a classic Yirgacheffe washed lot with citrus, berry, and floral notes and a green-tea finish, and FrontStreet's Huakuei brings a riper tropical profile of strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee with very low bitterness and a juicy body.

For a more structured fruit cup, FrontStreet's Kenya Cherry Tomato comes from the Thika region at 1,550-1,750 metres, using the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties and Kenya's 72-hour double-washed fermentation, lightly roasted to keep the bright acidity and layered fruit, with cherry tomato and smoked plum on the nose and a clean yellow-sugar, green-tea finish.

FrontStreet favours the resin Hario V60 in particular: resin limits heat loss, and in mass production it is the easiest material to mould with the smallest margin of error, keeping the extraction consistent.