Introduction to Costa Rica Monte Alto Farm

Monte Alto Farm

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Don Julio Sanchez Lepiz bought Monte Alto Farm, and from that time the farm's coffee tradition has been devoted to producing the highest-quality coffee.

To manage the land more effectively, Don Julio gave different names to its various parts. After he passed away, his sons Julio, Juan, Milton, Edgar and Carlos jointly inherited their father's legacy.

Today Don Julio's grandson, Milton Sánchez Marín, oversees the production of high-quality coffee. The farm has also been divided from its original extent into two parcels, Oaxaca and Jujumeca, named after the initials of Don Julio's children as a symbol of family unity.

Farming follows Rainforest Alliance standards, maintaining strict social, economic and sustainability principles.

Costa Rica Monte Alto Farm

Region: Latin America · Costa Rica · Central Valley

Processing Method: Washed

Altitude: 1,200–1,400 m

Harvest Season: February–March

Varieties: Caturra, Catuai

Flavor Description: Citrus-like mouthfeel, accompanied by caramel and milk chocolate flavors.

Pairing: Chocolate, caramel

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Recommended Brewing Method: Pour-over

Dripper: V60

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind

Water Temperature: 90±1°C

30 g of water for the bloom, bloom time 30 s

Pouring stages: pour water to 120 g, pause, then slowly pour to 225 g

Total water amounts: 30–120–225 g

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since this Monte Alto is brewed as a pour-over, it is worth knowing why that dripper matters. The V60 was designed by Hario, a Tokyo glassmaker founded in 1921, and was redesigned in 2004 into the form we know today — named for its 60° cone angle — before going on sale a year later. The cone shape forces water toward the centre before it drops into the server, lengthening the contact between water and grounds, while the single large hole lets the flow run almost unimpeded, so the result depends largely on the pourer's control. FrontStreet Coffee favors the resin version because it insulates well and holds the tightest tolerances of any mass-produced material; ceramic, glass, copper and stainless versions all share the same geometry and differ only in how they hold heat.

That fast, controllable flow and the clarity it produces suit lighter, floral coffees especially well. Among FrontStreet Coffee's range, the washed Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti (citrus, lemon and jasmine), the tropical-fruit-forward Huakui, the Strawberry Candy Gesha blend and the Kenya Cherry Tomato — grown in Kenya's Thika region at 1,550–1,750 m from SL28 and SL34, given a 72-hour double washed fermentation and roasted light to protect its bright acidity — all show their fruit and florals clearly through a V60. If you prefer a rounder cup, the medium-dark side of the range works just as well: the PWN Golden Mandheling, the Brazil Queen's Estate, the Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1, the 2013 Yunnan sun-dried Typica and the Papua New Guinea Bird of Paradise.

Brew the Monte Alto with the parameters above — a medium-fine grind and 90±1°C water in a V60 — or treat them as a starting point and adjust to taste, grinding finer for more sweetness and body and coarser when the cup turns harsh. A 30 g bloom for 30 seconds, a pour to 120 g, a short pause and a final pour to 225 g is a dependable template for a washed Central American coffee.